Nottingham Central Library set to open after series of delays

Nottingham's new Central Library is set to open next month following a series of delays.

The inside features striped book shelves, in a nod to the city's famous fashion designer Paul Smith and an interactive cinema room.

The library, set to open on 28 November, spans three floors in a section of the Broadmarsh car park.

The city has been without a central library since the previous site closed in March 2020.

Thousands of books have been sitting in storage ever since, racking up costs of £205,000 to move the initial stock and a further £24,000 to keep them safe while the new library was built, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

At the same time, the city faced the potential closure of three other area libraries before a campaign helped save them.

The new library also features conference rooms, interactive screens and spaces for community groups.

Council bosses first pushed back the opening of the new site in 2021 due to the pandemic and financial pressures on Nottingham City Council.

The project was originally predicted to cost £10.5m.

Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis, cabinet member for culture and leisure at Nottingham City Council, said: "[The library] is looking fantastic, and we can't wait for people to visit and make use of the modern facility.

"[It] includes a fantastic children's library and some great features such as an immersive storytelling room using the latest audio-visual technology to help bring books alive.

"It will help to bring people into the area and with the wider regeneration work, these pedestrianised streets will give people a place to visit and enjoy, with the library and its café at the heart of this."

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