In April we reported on the opening of our fantastic new Northcote Library. As well as having a bigger and better fully modernised library, with children and adult floors as well as a dedicated space for teenagers, the new library incorporates a range of environmentally friendly enhancements which reduce energy consumption and maintain optimal temperatures within the building throughout the year. This means that the new library is more sustainable than its predecessor as it utilises solar energy and air source heat pump technology.
As well as reducing energy costs, the design of the new building also includes spaces which can be let out commercially to local businesses and community groups as workspaces or meeting venues.
These design options were deliberately chosen by the previous Conservative Administration so that opening hours in the new Northcote Library building could be extended beyond the hours offered in the old 1960s building, which was expensive to heat and had limited commercial space to hire out. However, when the new library opened in April, it was revealed that it would be closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays.
We want to see the original aspiration of extended opening hours fulfilled. We are calling on the new Wandsworth Labour Administration to extend the library’s opening hours to at least 6 days a week.
