15/02/2016 - Permalink

Refurbishment of Albrighton Library ready for transfer to Albrighton Parish Council

Related topics: Community / Leisure, culture and heritage / Partner organisations

Albrighton Library and Customer Service Point will be temporarily closed for six to eight weeks from Monday 29 February 2016 for refurbishment, as part of the transfer of the library to Albrighton Parish 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 95% of respondents opted for the transfer of the library to Albrighton Parish Council.

The building work, due to last for around six to eight weeks, will involve moving the parish council offices from their present location in the Red House 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 Cabinet member for leisure and culture, said:-

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

“As a result of this I am delighted that Albrighton Parish Council are taking over the running of Albrighton 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 Albrighton and the surrounding area for generations to come.

“In the meantime, we do apologise for any inconvenience while the library undergoes a 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 at the front of the library for customers wanting to use their local library service every Saturday morning from 5 March 2016 until Saturday 9 April from 10am to 1pm.

Malcolm Pate, Leader of Shropshire Council, and local Shropshire Councillor for Albrighton, welcomed the move and said it showed what could be achieved by councils working together for the good of the community.

Elaine Moss, Shropshire Council’s library area manager – South, added:

“We know how important the library is to residents in Albrighton, 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 Albrighton Library reopens.”

Advice for library customers during the temporary closure:

  • Any customers who wants 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 Shropshire Council enquiry and need to contact our Customer Services, you can do so by calling 0345 678 9000 or by visiting shropshire.gov.uk and clicking on the ‘contact us’ section. Customers may also use the customer service point at Bridgnorth Library during these alterations.

Further information

Albrighton Parish Council is to take over the running of Albrighton Library and Customer Service Point. This follows a public consultation in which people were asked to consider proposals for the future of the library building. Option 1, to transfer the running of the library to Albrighton Parish Council, was supported by 95% 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.