2:41pm Monday 8th April 2013
By Hermione Wright
A library will close its doors for the final time on Saturday to be replaced with a temporary building while a new premises is built.
Ordnance Road Library in Hertford Road will be demolished to make way for a joint centre on the same site, with a GP surgery, dentist, and a community hall under the same roof.
A temporary library is due to open in 65 Ordnance Road on Monday, April 22 – more than a week after the library in Freezywater closes – while the development is carried out.
The new centre is expected to open next year.
Despite refurbishment in 2011, a council feasibility study into the joint centre found the 40-year-old building to be "unsuitable for renovation" and suggested a rebuild would be "necessary".
Councillor Bambos Charalambous, cabinet member for leisure and cultural services, said: “The temporary library will offer most of the services that local people expect.
“Opening hours are the same and there will still be a wide choice of items to borrow and activities to enjoy.
“I am sure that all library users will understand that this will be for a relatively short period with the minimum disruption while we look forward to a brand new building in 2014.”
The temporary library will open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am to 8pm, on Fridays from 9am to 5.30pm and Saturdays from 9am to 5pm.
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