Lewisham library construction to start early 2025 but rooftop bar scrapped
Work to alter both the inside and outside of Lewisham library as part of a major town centre project is expected to start in early 2025 following its closure in September 2023.
A response to a public question at a full council meeting states that we will see “construction work starting on-site early next year. This will take 12-15 months to complete (including contingency), after which the library service will need to return to the building, alongside operators of the café and the business hub.
It is anticipated that this state of the art building, with enhanced library and civic spaces, will re-open to the public in the summer of 2026.”
The council also stated that a planning application would be submitted this month but a search on the relevant planning page so far draws a bank. I’ll keep an eye out for it.
Funding
The £8 million project is mostly funded by the last government’s Levelling Up Fund with an award of £19 million which will also see changes along the High Street and a new market pavilion.
However the Library Resource Centre at 315 Hither Green Lane is being disposed to help fund the project. The exact costs break down as £7,990,764 of which £6,193,764 is LUF grant and £1,797,000 is Lewisham Council funds.
A separate meeting last week also included information about the project including the removal of a proposed rooftop bar. The building itself has been owned by Lewisham Council since 1990 and was previously in the hands of BT (or British Telecom as known at the time).
Issues discovered during preliminary investigations include:
- Surveys have found that the slab and beam capacity appears lower than would be required for the 3rd floor archives and could require strengthening.
- Column capacity was also found to be very close to its limit at the bottom of the building and strengthening works may need to be considered.
- Localised repair works will be required at roof level where existing reinforcement to the beams has corroded due to water ingress.
The report states £1.5m would be needed for a rooftop space to host events such as cinema showings, yoga classes, a bar and a civic area. That’s 30 per cent higher than typical spends in other areas.
They also noted low interest from potential operators for any bar.
The library should reopen by June 2026 according to latest estimates.
How sad they’ve decided to scrap the rooftop bar – was really looking forward to that! But glad the rest of the library / cafe renovations will be going ahead relatively quickly. Thanks for the update!
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Am I the only one who believes the library will never reopen? The wrong building (too many structural defects) in the wrong place – half a mile from the station down a high street with few shops once the Lewisham Centre has been demolished. No provision for after-school study as far as I can see. As for that rooftop bar, no wonder no-one showed interest in running it. The same applies to Landsec’s proposals for the shopping centre. Do they and the Council not realise that London’s nighttime industry is in crisis, with scores of nighclubs closing since lockdown? If anywhere is to buck this trend and revive the ailing night-time economy, it will surely not be somewhere as unattractive as Lewisham. As things stand. central Lewisham looks like becoming one vast high-rise housing estate with no infrastructure.