Works to refurbish and remodel the library are expected to begin next month, meaning from 31 March the library service will close and temporarily operate from the nearby Cotmandene Resource Centre from 1 April 2023.
The planned works will create improved spaces and modern facilities in the library, including accessible toilets and consultation rooms. The improvements will mean additional services will become available from the library, to allow the valued Cotmandene Resource Centre service to be relocated on site, as previously announced.
Once the refurbishment is completed this summer, the operating hours of the library will then be extended as the community resource centre service can open on current library closed days and make full use of the building.
Councillor Yvonne Bear, Executive Councillor for Renewal, Recreation and Housing said: “These works will deliver a welcome enhancement of this much-loved library, which as well as guaranteeing a future for the resource centre that is so important to the local community, also reflects the priority the council is placing on our great library network. As we continue to see a resurgence in footfall in our libraries following the pandemic, it is right that we to look at what more we can do to further support these valuable services.”
Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), the charitable social enterprise who operate Bromley’s libraries, are working in partnership with the council to temporarily relocate the library.
Diana Edmonds MBE, National Libraries Director at GLL, said: “We are excited by the plans for the library and look forward to the new facilities once works are completed. While it is convenient to be able to temporarily operate from such a close site during these works, just a two-minute walk away, I still want to thank all our service users in advance for their understanding and cooperation during this period, and hope they are also looking forward to returning to the refurbished library later this year.”
