COMMUNITIES should grasp the opportunity offered by changes to their libraries, says North Yorkshire's director of public health.

Some Craven villages could see their libraries handed over to them in the next couple of years by North Yorkshire County Council as part of cuts to the council's libraries budget, but it need not be negative, said Dr Lincoln Sargeant.

He said communities - which include Ingleton, Settle, Bentham and Cross Hills - should look to new opportunities and consider introducing additional services.

"Once the pain and difficulties have settled down, we can revisit what a community library can do," he said.

Dr Sargeant, in his annual health report to Craven District Council, which included a raft of recommendations, said Craven was generally a healthy place t o live.

Road traffic accidents were on the decline, but had started on a higher level than most areas of the country, he said.

Craven had shared a national decline in childhood obesity, but there was still an issue with overweight adults.

Around two-thirds of adults were classed as overweight or obese, putting a strain on the National Health Service.

A way to tackle obesity was to get people out into the countryside and to encourage walking and cycling opportunities.

Mental health was also a challenge and the emotional wellbeing of young people. Strides were being made, but there was still much to do, particularly with dementia, where latest research had suggested could be helped by physical activity.

Dr Sargeant also raised the issue of an ageing population and the challenges that came with it, but added Craven was also seeing an increasing trend of young, working-age people leaving the area.

Asked about the issue of isolation amongst older people, Dr Sargeant said it was also younger people and single mothers, who suffered from being left alone.

As part of the county council's Stronger Communities programme, they were looking at setting up social clubs.

He added they would also be working with older people "on the cusp of going into social care", looking at ways to keep them at home as long as possible and to remain independent.

But although no statutory body could provide everything and it would require a "vibrant community", volunteers could not be relied upon to do everything.