Donald Hope Library Will Soon Be Re-Built

---

New library building will incorporate 60 flats

Donald Hope Library is soon to be re-built after development plans, including 60 flats, were agreed by Merton Council.

The current 1970s building on High Street, Colliers Wood, will be replaced with a building constructed from Portland stone, reflecting the stone used for Colliers Wood tube station.

The new library will open in two years and will be spread over three floors. Visitors will get more space given over to books, DVDs and e-books, a coffee shop, community meeting rooms, special activity zones and a larger children’s area.

The current building will close for the redevelopment from July 28. A temporary library will be available at the Guardian Centre for the Blind, Clarendon Road from 30 July 2015. Opening times will remain the same.

A special open day on Saturday August 1 from 9.30am until 5pm is being organised so residents can see the temporary facilities in action.

The council says it will be involving residents in how the library looks and is laid out to ensure that it caters for their needs.

The development work is being funded because a developer is building 60 apartments in the three floors above the new facility. There are only six disabled parking spaces included in the development and there had been some local objections to the height of the new building.

Merton Council cabinet member for community and culture Councillor Nick Draper said: "The new library for Colliers Wood is excellent news for our residents. While so many councils are closing their libraries, ours are going from strength to strength and we are finding ways of providing new facilities that will be there for a long time to come. We have an award-winning library service which Merton should be proud of and I look forward to seeing this great new library being built over the next couple of years."

June 18, 2015