Durrington Library relocating to secure its future

The service will be moving into the Robinson Room at the village hall

Author: Faye TryhornPublished 16th Aug 2022

Durrington's Library service is to relocate in the Autumn, in the hope of keeping the facility going into the future.

Instead of using a decades old portacabin on Bulford Road, it'll be moving into the Robinson Room within the village hall.

Wiltshire Council are making the change, saying they want to make sure 'important services are shaped round the needs of local people'.

The new location has more parking than the older library site, and sits next door to a convenience store too.

New moveable shelving, a colourful children's area, computer spaces and a self-service kiosk will also be installed.

The inclusion of moveable shelves has been included, to ensure the Robinson Room can also still be used for other activities outside of library hours.

The library service in Durrington will be moving to the Village Hall on the High Street in the Autumn

Almost all of the volunteers that help to run Durrington's Library will also move with the service.

Only 2 of the 26 current volunteers won't be part of the relocation.

Cllr Laura Mayes, Deputy Leader of Wiltshire Council, said:

“We know how vital local libraries are to their communities and we want to ensure they continue to provide important services shaped round the needs of local people.

“The current venue for Durrington Library, a near 50-year old portacabin, is not viable for the long term so we’ve identified an alternative solution in collaboration with the town council. The library will move to a new location in the autumn and our valued library volunteers will continue to provide a warm welcome to library customers, suggestions for new books to read, information on many subjects and help to use the computers amongst a host of other things.

“Through our Business Plan we are committed to supporting vibrant, well-connected communities and an effective library service, designed around local needs, will support us with that.

“Relocating the library will resolve the maintenance issues with the current library building and bring further benefits from being part of a community hub to support residents access a wider range of activities and facilities in the years to come. We’re working hard to ensure there is very little disruption during the transition and will continue to keep people up to date on the plans.”

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