Posted on Wednesday 8th February 2023
Refurbishment of Tamworth library's Corporation Street building is on course.
An extensive town centre library refurbishment will come to a full stop in June.
Tamworth’s Corporation Street library will reopen in time for both the school holidays and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the building’s opening in 1973.
Having closed in the autumn, the refurbished library will open again on Monday, 19th June, restocked with thousands of books, and offering computer access and activities.
Victoria Wilson, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Communities and Culture, said:
I am delighted by the size and scale of this refurbishment and the commitment to upgrading this library in the heart of Tamworth.
Thanks to a competitive tendering process we’re taking the opportunity to carry out additional work behind the scenes.
Some of the updating is much-needed; the heating has been temperamental at times and the one of the engineers replacing it now remembers working on that system as an apprentice a long time ago.”
As well as having the heating system updated and electrics checked and the library space refurbished, the Corporation Street base will still offer a flexible community space with a full range of stock and IT.
Once Corporation Street reopens, the register office will return and the county council’s adult and children’s services will also occupy part of the upper floors after moving from nearby Marmion House, which is earmarked for redevelopment.
Until then, the temporary library continues to operate a few minutes’ walk away at 56a Albert Road.
The temporary venue is working well. Victoria Wilson added:
We look forward to returning to Corporation Street once the refurbishment has been completed but in the meantime the feedback has been very positive about our temporary home.
Once we’re up and running again we’ll be fully immersed in the summer reading challenge for the school holidays and then we look forward to celebrating the library’s golden anniversary.”