New site found for town library

Andy Giddings
BBC News, West Midlands
Getty Images Rows of books of different colours on wooden shelvesGetty Images
The library has been without a permanent home since 2023

A library closed when reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was found in the roof of its original home will reopen next week at a new location.

Shropshire Council said Whitchurch Library would be open to visitors on Thursdays and Fridays from 13 February in St Mary's Arcade.

Since it had to leave the Civic Centre in 2023, the library has been running as a pick-up and drop-off service at the Civic Centre sports hall.

St Mary's Arcade was previously a Woolworths store, but is now home to a number of small shops.

The council said it planned to extend the opening hours of the library from March.

In May last year the authority said 20 locations had been looked at, but none had met its requirements.

It had asked people to come forward with suggestions.

Last week, the council proposed spending up to £4m to install a new roof and carrying out other repairs to the civic centre.

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