18/01/2016 - Permalink

Refurbishment of Shifnal Library ready for transfer to the town council

Related topics: Community / Leisure, culture and heritage

Shifnal Library and Customer Service Point will be temporarily closed from Monday 1 February 2016 for refurbishment, as part of the transfer of the library to Shifnal Town Council.

The transfer follows a public consultation led by Shropshire Council, in which proposals for the future of the library and customer service point were put forward for residents to consider. A total of 89% of respondents opted for the transfer of the library to Shifnal Town Council.

The building work, due to last for around six weeks, will involve moving the town council offices from their present location in Broadway, into the library. The refurbishment will also provide the opportunity to create a modern community space for the library and Customer Service Point.

Stuart West, Shropshire Council’s new Cabinet member for leisure and culture, and local Shropshire Councillor for Shifnal South and Cosford, said:

“Libraries play a vital and integral part in our local communities. Over the past 12 months, Shropshire Council and Shifnal Town Council have been working extremely hard with partners and the local community to find ways that will enable our library to remain open.

“As a result of this I am delighted that Shifnal Town Council are taking over the running of Shifnal Library on our behalf. This is a great opportunity for the councils to safeguard the library services for local residents and to continue to provide a valuable service to the people of Shifnal and the surrounding area for generations to come.

“In the meantime, we do apologise for any inconvenience whilst Shifnal Library goes through refurbishment. I hope users of the library and customer service point will enjoy the much improved facilities when it opens.”

A mobile library will be available for customers wanting to use their local library service most Saturdays from 10am to 1pm, until the reopening of the library.

Elaine Moss, Shropshire Council’s library area manager – south, said:

“We know how important the library is to residents in Shifnal and we do apologise for the inconvenience this may cause but we want to help all we can. Prior to the closed period, people may borrow as many books as they like and either return them to the mobile library, another Shropshire Council library or keep them until Shifnal Library reopens.”

Advice for library users during the temporary closure:

  • Any customers who want to use library services can still do so at any other Shropshire Council library. For more information visit shropshire.gov.uk/libraries.
  • If you have a council enquiry, you can visit another Customer Service Point, phone 0345 678 9000 or go to http://shropshire.gov.uk/ and click on the ‘contact us’ section. The newly revamped Shifnal Library and Customer Service Point are due to reopen on Monday 21 March 2016.

Further information

Shifnal Town Council is to take over the running of Shifnal Library. This follows a public consultation in which people were asked to consider proposals for the future of the library and Customer Service Point. Option 1, to transfer the running of the library, together with other assets such as car parks and open spaces, to Shifnal Town Council was supported by 89% of respondents.

The consultation is part of wider work Shropshire Council is undertaking with partner organisations and communities across Shropshire, in response to central government cuts, to ensure libraries and other key face-to-face services continue to be delivered in a sustainable and more cost effective ways.