Controversial building project by the railway viaduct
This time concerning the future of Stockport Central Library.
"Libraries gave us power" is the opening line of the song 'A Design For Life' by the Manic Street Preachers. The song alludes to the power of libraries to educate people and improve their quality of life
The Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie donated vast sums of money for the construction of libraries. Many of them are in North West England. One of the benefits of a library is that it offers an inspiring environment to read and study, with books, maps, photos and a wealth of other items available on the shelves.
Libraries often offer inspiring architecture, whether traditional or modern. My childhood library, Edgeley Library in Stockport, made a huge impression me. It was built during the Second World War and had a special atmosphere. I'll never forget going there with my dad to read and borrow books. Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, North Wales, not far fom Chester, is a remarkable place. Built in the style of an university building, it has reading rooms where you can experience the true meaning of silence. The Gladstone Library offers an inspiring environment where you can discover new ideas and perspectives. The ultra-modern Library of Birmingham offers futuristic architecture, a variety of reading and study areas, roof gardens and panoramic views over the city.
It's inspiring in a different way to a traditional library, symbolising the values that look towards the future. Both Liverpool and Manchester Central Libraries offer a potent mix of traditional and modern. Libraries provide a different environment from your home or workplace. You're surrounded by books. You can pick them off the shelves and browse them. If you added up the value of all the books in a library, it would add up to a fortune, and you have free access to them, no fees, passwords or other restrictions, and you can even take them home. Libraries contain information you won't find on the internet. A lot of information can only be found in books and archives, such as local and family history, newspapers, magazines, archive photographs or just detailed information that hasn't been digitised.
The idea that because we have mobile phones, libraries are obsolete is absurd. The point I'm making here is that a library isn't just the books it contains, but also the building it's housed in. The magnificent Grade II listed Stockport Central Library, was built from 1913 to 1915 to designs by Bradshaw, Gass and Hope, supported by a grant from Andrew Carnegie. It has served the town for 108 years. But now the council plan to take the books and collections out of the library and relocate them. So what's going on here? Stockport Library needs renovation and is not very accessible according to modern standards. Some former retail units have become available in the shopping centre, Merseyway. And so the plan is to move library services into a new facility there.
However, the decision is controversial. Over 7500 people have signed a petition on the 38 Degrees site asking Stockport Council to ditch the plans and not end its use as a library. A large number of people objected and a group of local residents have mounted a campaign.
They want the library to remain where it is.
t the beginning of February 2002, came news of the Council's final decision. The following statement is part of a response by the petition creator. "Stockport Council’s Cabinet meeting voted unanimously on the 1st of February 2022 to reject the objections of the full Council meeting held on the 13th of January 2022 and to reaffirm its 7the of December 2021 decision to end the 108 years of use of the Carnegie building on Wellington Road South as Stockport's Central Library and to replace it with a '21st century library' in refurbished retail units in the Merseyway shopping centre.".
So who's right and who's wrong, and what should Stockport do? Let's look at it from both points of view.
Library visits have been falling for many years. Stockport Central library has fewer visitors than it did ten years ago. There are many reasons for this. The internet, changing lifestyles, economics, the pandemic. The building is in need of renovation. Inside it's maintained to a good standard by dedicated stff, but the building is over 100 years old. It's not very accessible to disabled people according to modern standards, and is located out of the heart of Stockport. Meanwhile, Stockport's shopping centre has suffered from decline, though today it's quite busy and it seems to be doing okay, though on a smaller scale than before.
There are many vacant retail units. Government money has become available for the development of town centres. And so the Council have drawn up a plan is to create a new home for the services of the library. That home is called Stockroom and it's said to cost £14.5. Visualisations give us an idea of what it will look like. It will occupy the covered walkway Adlington Walk and neighbouring former retail units. It will be accessible to disabled people and will have good toilet facilities that comply with today's requirements. There will be lots of floor space.
There will be a sensory room, performance area and a café. It will be located where people go shopping, close to Boots, HMV, McDonalds and other popular outlets. As the Manchester Evening News reported on the 2nd of February 2022: "Council leader Elise Wilson hailed the move as a boost for the people of Stockport - from the ‘11,000 adults who have trouble reading’ and town centre businesses, to young families who stopped using the library as it ‘no longer serves their needs’".
But supporters of keeping the library where it is, have a different viewpoint. The library was funded by the Carnegie Foundation has given sterling service for 108 years. The building is a precious asset and only needs to be renovated. The Carnegie Library is part of Stockport's heritage and needs to be open as a library so that people can come in and experience it as generations have done before. The converted retail units in the shopping centre are said to be bigger, but there are still some additional costs and the plans still lack clarity.
So what does AidanEyewitness think? Ideally, we should have both. Surely it wouldn't a problem for Stockport to have two town centre libraries, the old one and one new one. Manchester city centre has four. If Stockport Central Library has to its doors as a library, many people will be very disappointed and angry. But to gain a new library facility in the shopping centre, that's designed for contemporary times, would surely be a good thing. Surely the best solution is to have the best of both worlds, but it seems we can't afford it. Our towns and cities have been starved of funding for many years, but that's another story. And on the matter of location, Stockport Central Library is actually quite centrally located, less than a minute's walk from bus stops, five minutes away from the station and car parks.
The building is passed by thousands of vehicles including scores of buses every day. It stands on the way from the town centre to two colleges - Aquinas and Stockport College. The converted retail units are located in a corner of the shopping centre around 10 minutes walk from the nearest bus stop. Will people use it in large numbers? That remains to be seen. There are two sides to the story, but there is a more fundamental question. A small number of cabinet members went against the decision of the full council as well as a large section of public opinion. Was that right? It's a dilemma. But difficult decisions need to be taken sooner or later.
In fact, the decision has been taken. Stockport Central Library will close and library services will be transferred to the Stockroom premises. I understand the plan is now to move Stockport Adult Education Services into the old library. In an ideal world - to quote another great song by the Christians - I believe we could have a renovated old library and a state of the art new library. But unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world. I hope you found this article interesting, though I'm not sure how inspiring it was.