Council to give £3 for every £1 raised for library

The venue will be extended to allow for more activities at the site

A council has committed to giving £3 for every £1 raised for a local library expansion.

Friends of Hook Norton Community Library near Chipping Norton aim to raise £10,000 by the end of October to pay for the work to expand the site into the neighbouring Norman Matthews Hall.

Oxfordshire County Council has vowed to triple the donations received, which could take the potential funds to £40,000.

The venue, a small Grade II listed building dating from 1855, will be extended to allow for more activities at the site, as well as traditional library facilities.

Mark McCree, head of libraries and heritage at Oxfordshire County Council, said: "The project to expand Hook Norton Library is an exciting opportunity for us to develop and enhance this well used and much loved community asset, responding to changing customer demands and needs.

"It is also a chance for us to pilot a collaborative approach to project delivery, planning and funding by working with the Friends of Hook Norton Community Library."

Jane Orchard, chair of the Friends of Hook Norton Community Library, said: "While other, libraries around the UK have closed, Oxfordshire County Council is offering us this exciting opportunity to reunite the whole building into a fun social space for reading, learning and community activities."