Plans for refurbishment of Palmers Green Library, which were approved by Enfield Council's Cabinet on 16 October, will leave Palmers Green Town Centre without a proper library for a period of 14 months.
The chosen option for the library refurbishment work will cost £4.45m and is set out in paperwork published ahead of the Cabinet meeting. The scheme will need to be approved by the the full Council in November. The provisional timetable envisages closure of the Library in June 2014 and its reopening following refurbishment in August 2015. However, before this the Library will be closed for more than two months, between 23 November and 3 February. During the closures Palmers Green residents will be expected to use Bowes Road, Winchmore Hill, Ridge Avenue or Southgate Circus libraries, or alternatively the mobile library when in the locality. The Council had investigated the possibility of providing a temporary library in Palmers Green, and had even submitted an application for planning permission for a temporary facility in the Lodge Avenue car park, but this has now been "discounted".
The document states that
The Library and Museum Service has and will consult widely throughout the lifetime of the proposed development for both the interim arrangement and permanent refurbishment of the library. Residents, businesses, local community groups / organisations and interested stakeholders will be kept informed, and invited to express their views, where appropriate, on such things as the resources they wish to see in the library in the short and longer term.
However, since the decision against a temporary facility has already been taken, it is unclear how it will be possible to "consult widely...for the interim arrangement" in any meaningful way.
Before the Library is refurbished, the Town Hall Extension will be demolished with the aim of "segregating" the Library building from the main part of Southgate Town Hall, to allow the sale of the Town Hall for conversion into flats. This work will commence in November and will presumably coincide with the announced temporary closure of the Library between 23 November and 3 February. The status of negotiations to sell the Town Hall remains unclear.
The refurbished Library will occupy about a third of the ground floor and the whole of the first floor. In addition to the types of services provided by modern libraries, there will be a room which will be hired out to the local community.
Only a minimum amount of work will be done in the basement and the remainder of the ground floor, as "shell and core provision" for an envisaged tenant. The Council hopes that these areas will eventually be let to primary health care and dentistry providers.
The main entrance to the library will be relocated to the north-east corner and pedestrians will be able to enter from Green Lanes across a new public square facing onto Broomfield Lane and the corner of Green Lanes. Additional trees will be planted and there will be public seating and a "Landmark and Gateway" - it is unclear whether the clocktower shown in the document is the design that has been selected, or simply a concept. Pedestrian access from the car park will also be improved.
There will be an exhibition showing the plans at Palmers Green Library on Saturday 2 November, when the public will be able talk to staff. A meeting will be held (presumably also at the Library) between 5.30 and 7pm on Tuesday 29 October. An information page has been set up on the Council Website. The documentation which includes more detailed information is available here.
Some changes were made to this item on 17 October following endorsement of the scheme by the Enfield Council Cabinet.