Cllr Chris Kennedy on the refurbishment of Stoke Newington Library
Cllr Chris Kennedy, Cabinet Member for Culture, provides details on the refurbishment of Stoke Newington Library and services offered by Hackney Libraries:
"Stoke Newington Library is set to temporarily close its doors to the public from Sunday 31 March, for a comprehensive refurbishment project. The renovation work will see improvements made to the roof and interior of the Grade 2 listed building.
We’re delighted to be making this investment to bring the building back into good repair as residents have asked. In the meantime we are keen to ensure residents in the area are able to access the wide range of quality services on offer from Hackney Libraries.
Our award-winning Community Library Service, which is available to residents who can’t visit a library due to age, disability or caring responsibilities, will be moved to Stamford Hill Library to continue providing services to vulnerable people and those that are housebound or in hospital.
The Council has also invested £200k in improvement works to Stamford Hill in order to construct a new roof and install a new lift which will provide added accessibility to the upper floor.
We are engaging with the artists who worked from studios above the library to find alternative space for them in another of our libraries so they can continue to work with the local community on art projects.
We are committed to continuing our offer of activities and community events for families hosted at Clissold House in the nearby park, where the popular weekly rhyme times for babies and toddlers will now take place.
Residents are able to keep up to date on the refurbishment work at Stoke Newington as well as all the other events and activities taking place in libraries across the borough by subscribing to our monthly libraries newsletter or by following Hackney Libraries on Love Hackney, Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
So stay tuned to find out what’s happening in our libraries over the next few months. If you haven’t already done so, make sure you join your local library to use the computers, take out a book, or just pop in to see what is on and get involved – Hackney Libraries are here for you!"