Opening date for Nottingham’s new £10m Central Library announced

Nottingham’s new £10m Central Library will open next month, it has been announced.

The new library is a “key element” in the regeneration of the Broad Marsh area, the city council said, which includes a new bus station, car park and public green space next to Nottingham College.

The city has been without a Central Library since the former venue on Angel Row closed at the outbreak of the Covid pandemic in March 2020.

In addition to thousands of new books, the library will also host meeting rooms, an exhibition space, café and specialist collections.

The new library was initially set to open in December 2021, but funding issues caused repeated delays.

Work outside the library to complete landscaping and a new children’s play area is ongoing, whilst a wider redevelopment of the former Broad Marsh shopping centre, including a new park, site is expected to begin later this year.

Nottingham City Council announced on Tuesday, October 17 that the new library will open to the public for the first time on November 28.

Cllr Pavlos Kotsonis, the authority’s portfolio holder for leisure, culture and planning, said: “I am delighted that we will be opening the doors of the new Central Library in just a few short weeks.

“It is looking fantastic, and we can’t wait for people to visit and make use of the modern facility.

“The new Central library includes a fantastic children’s library and some great features such as an immersive storytelling room using the latest audio-visual technology to help bring books alive.

“It will help to bring people into the area and with the wider regeneration work, these pedestrianised streets will give people a place to visit and enjoy, with the library and its cafe at the heart of this.”