Town's library to be moved to new site

A town's library is to be moved to a new location, despite objections from local residents.

Dewsbury Library would be shifted from its current site on Railway Street to the Walsh Building, next to Dewsbury Town Hall, where it would be set up alongside the town’s customer service centre, Kirklees Council said.

The move followed a review of the authority's assets which had identified an opportunity to refurbish the Walsh Building and transform it into a “modern hub” for services, according to the council.

However, about 66% of the 301 people who responded to a council consultation said it was either "important" or "very important" that the library remained in its current location.

Of the Dewsbury Library users who took part in the survey, 83% reported using the facility at least monthly, while over half said they used the library at least weekly, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Kirklees Council said the thinking behind the relocation tied in with its wider regeneration plan for the town, known as the Dewsbury Blueprint.

Bringing the library closer to the centre would increase footfall, the authority said.

Several projects making up the blueprint scheme are already under way, including the start of improvements to the area outside the Walsh Building and the Town Hall.

Works on the Walsh Building were planned to start in the spring and, once completed, the site would be renamed the Dewsbury Library Hub, the council said.

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