Liverpool City Council has granted planning approval for the renovation of Liverpool’s Central Library, four years after the project was first submitted.

The £50 million scheme, by Austin-Smith Lord, includes a full restoration of the 150-year old grade II listed building.

Practice partner Chris Pritchett said: “We are obviously delighted that this crucial milestone has been achieved, particularly in the current economic climate.”

The Hornby Library and Oak Reading Rooms will be renovated and opened fully to the public for the first time, and space will be created to provide a new home for the Liverpool Record Office and its 14km of archives.

The sections behind the facade, which were built in the 1950s and 1970s

following second world war bomb damage, and now suffering from damp and a leaking roof, will also be rebuilt.

Austin-Smith Lord previously worked on the FACT Centre and Bluecoats arts centres in Liverpool.

The library officially closes tomorrow for the renovation work.

Topics