Thornbury Library relocation plans scrapped after six years

Plans to move the library were approved six years ago

Plans to relocate a library into a community centre have been scrapped.

South Gloucestershire Council approved plans to relocate Thornbury Library to Turnberrie's Community Centre in December 2017. No progress were ever made on the plans.

The current administration overturned the decision, which was unpopular amongst residents six years ago.

Councillor Adam Monk said the council can now "identify a solution that works for the local people."

A report to the council's cabinet on Thursday said it was working alongside the Armstrong Hall and Turnberrie's Trusts on a number of options to develop the community centre, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It also said that after the business case has been completed and a decision has been reached, a new options report for the replacement of the library will be developed.

Councillor Maggie Tyrrell said: "The original decision was accompanied by a consultation that overwhelmingly said people in the town didn't want the library to move to Turnberrie's, so hopefully this decision will prove to be very popular.

"It will also give us a bit more flexibility on how we deal with the property, and for Turnberrie's it will allow them to plan its future without being inhibited by the uncertainty that surrounded the fact that the library was supposed to move in there but hasn't."

Over the last decade, there has been a programme of works to update and refurbish libraries in the area.

According to the cabinet report, funding was set aside for Thornbury Library, but work was halted due to the "long-term viability" of the building, which is in "poor condition".

It also said that the property required a new roof, windows and a replacement of electrical services and the heating system.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [e-mail]