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Neighbourhood may be without library for 12 months

Rosie BurgessWest of England
News imageBBC The entrance of Broadwalk Shopping Centre, showing shut shops and signs for Iceland, YMCA and Club 3000 Bingo.BBC
Knowle Library was based inside the Broadwalk Shopping Centre on the Wells Road

A neighbourhood could be left without a library for almost a year after talks failed to find a temporary replacement.

Knowle library closed in March over safety concerns at Broadwalk shopping centre on Wells Road, Bristol, which is set to be demolished and redeveloped.

Resident Peggy Ralph said: "We have been to meetings where we're told 'it will be a month' and here we are six months down the line."

A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said they are continuing negotiations over a temporary location while the community waits for a permanent library as part of the redevelopment.

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Residents raised concerns at a Bristol City Council public health and communities policy community meeting, asking when a temporary branch could open.

Ralph questioned whether a replacement could realistically be ready within four to six months, warning it would leave Knowle without a library for a year.

Chloe Somers said: "The ongoing closure of the current library is of huge detriment to the community."

She added: "I have used the library service not just to borrow books, but during a period of unemployment made use of the computers to help apply for jobs and to print."

News imageThe inside of Broadwalk Shopping Centre, showing passers-by and the entrance of a Poundland.
Developers are planning to knock down the shopping centre and build new homes and shops, with potential space for a new library too

The shopping centre has gradually emptied ahead of plans for Redcatch Quarter, a redevelopment expected to bring more than 500 homes and new shops to the site.

Liberal Democrat councillor Stephen Williams, chair of the committee, said the library has been expected to stay open during the shopping centre's wind down before demolition.

He added: "There have been some safety issues which is why it's been closed. We thought it would be a temporary closure, but we keep being unable to resolve those issues with the owner of the centre."

Nearby Wick Road Library has extended its opening hours to support residents affected by the closure.

Williams said: "We hope these negotiations will be concluded within one month."

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