We need to share some important news about car parking over the next few weeks. The Honorary Health and Safety Officer, on behalf of the Trustees, has arranged for the external building to be painted and redecorated over the summer. This means that scaffolding will be erected around the entire building for the duration of the works.

As typical of works involving scaffolding, we do not have an exact date for the work commencing, but we have been informed that the scaffolding could be put up as early as the 23rd  of June, but more likely the week beginning the 26th of June. Until it is up, we won’t know how much of an impact it will have on access to all of our parking spaces. Some may be restricted for the entirety of the project, but we do not know as yet.

We do know for now that the painters have recommended that while they are refurbishing each side of building’s front that parking be avoided for that period, to reduce the risk of your car getting a new coat of paint! We know the work to paint commences from 3rd July, but we do not have any indication of how long it will take to finish each of these sections. We will provide updates as we find out more.

The work is estimated to take up to two months in total before the scaffolding is subsequently removed.

Ideally, it would be very helpful if you could avoid parking at the library entirely during this period if possible, so we can ensure those who need it the most can be guaranteed access.

But at the least, may we recommend throughout this period that you phone ahead if you need a car park to access the library and we can inform you of the state of play on the day you require it.

We’re sorry we can’t be more definitive at this stage, and we hope to have more of a steer as the work commences, but we wanted you to know in advance of potential limitations and inconvenience the works may cause.

So please get in touch with any queries, and we will do our best to accommodate and support your visit. At the end of this, the library will be looking beautiful and refreshed! Thank you for your support, as always.

Best wishes from the library team and Trustees.