Nottingham library £10m refit opening date question mark

An opening date for Nottingham's new Central Library has still not been confirmed, despite the council saying it is "one of its biggest priorities".

The library is part of the new Broadmarsh car park and was originally due to be up and running this year.

But money from the sale of the old city centre site has not been confirmed.

A date of 2023 had been proposed but this week the council missed out on funding for the wider Broadmarsh area, including the £10m library refit.

In March council leader David Mellen confirmed the new library's opening would be delayed until 2022, when the Angel Row building had been sold off to developers.

Some of the money from the sale could be used towards the £10m cost of furnishing the new central library, the council said.

But negotiations on the sale have still not been completed, Mr Mellen told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In July, the opening got pushed back again to 2023.

Other funds to fit out the library would have come from a government Levelling Up bid, which the council missed out on on Wednesday as part of a wider bid to demolish the rest of the Broadmarsh shopping centre.

Mr Mellen said a professional design team will be consulted again to review the fitting out cost.

"Given the council's financial position and the impact of Covid, it's important that we review the scheme design first to ensure the library is going to deliver our ambition, deliver value for money and be fit for purpose," he said.

"We will be able to update on timeframes for delivery only once that is complete. It is one of our biggest priorities."

In April, Nottingham City Council spent £205,000 moving the central library's stock from Angel Row to its temporary location at Woodfield Industries, on Stone Bridge Road.

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