Worcestershire County Council supports plans to regenerate Redditch

The relocation of the library from the current building to the Town Hall is part of the £15.6m plan to regenerate Redditch Town Centre and will help to unlock millions of pounds worth of vital investment to improve the town.

The much needed funding boost, which was secured by Redditch Borough Council as part of its Town Deal with Government, represents the single largest investment into the town since the town was first formed back in the 1960’s.

Worcestershire County Council is in support of the regeneration of Redditch through the Town Plan and was approached to request the Redditch Library Service move from its current location into a new Community Hub at Redditch Town Hall as part of the regeneration plans.

Back in October 2022, Cabinet agreed that before the relocation was considered, a wide range of requirements would need to be fulfilled. This was to ensure that the County Council were able to continue to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service and not be financially worse off in any way because of the relocation.

Councillor Marcus Hart, Cabinet Member for Communities at Worcestershire County Council said: “I would like to assure all those who have taken the time to share their views about the relocation of the library that we have been in listening mode throughout the consultation period.

“Thanks to the thorough feedback we have received, we have been able to work with partners on the relocation plans to address most of the concerns that have been raised with us.

“These plans include some improvements to the current offer such as a dedicated blue badge space for the proposed new location.

“There will be no imminent changes to the library service offered to customers in Redditch.”

Councillor Matt Dormer, Leader of Redditch Borough Council, said: “Today’s decision by the county council’s cabinet is a welcome one as it is a key step. Not just towards Redditch Library joining the expanding community hub, where it can take pride of place, but also to unlock the potential to breathe new life into the town centre which it needs and deserves.

“By working together like this we can provide even better services more sustainably to people in Redditch and the community and put the unprecedented Town Deal investment we secured for Redditch to work.”

The County Council launched an extensive public consultation in November 2022 until February 2023 to understand resident and library user views and opinions about the potential relocation of services. 

During this consultation, the Council were able to gather invaluable feedback about what people may have been concerned about and were able to ensure that the solutions to these concerns were factored in to the plans to relocate. 

The vote to approve the relocation was taken after considering the conclusion of the extensive scrutiny exercise, the responses and mitigating action taken in response to  feedback from the public consultation, and the confirmation that the commercial, operational and collaboration requirements are all me 

The dedicated Redditch Library pages of the County Council website, have been updated to address concerns raised during the consultation; in a ‘How concerns about the relocation have been addressed’ section.

For more information, please visit the Redditch Library Consultation pages of the County Council website.