News Item

Progress made on Carnegie takeover

Crosby residents were given an update this week on how plans to find a new use for the town’s historic Carnegie Library are progressing.

More than 50 local people attended a consultation evening which was held at the Plaza Community Cinema in Waterloo.

The event was organised by Bootle-based Regenerus and the Friends of Carnegie Library (FOCAL) who unveiled plans to work together on developing proposals for the building last September.

They were joined by built environment and regeneration specialists We Make Places who are working on the project, and property consultants Rowley Szilagy who have completed a building conditions survey on the library.

Guests at the event were able to watch a film made at the main library consultation days in December, and hear the detailed results of a survey on what activities local people would like the 1905 architectural gem used for.

They were also able to view some initial designs on how such activities could be accommodated within the building, alongside local people’s memories of the Carnegie down the years.

Previous consultation events have shown there is overwhelming support in Crosby for preserving the Carnegie for use by the local community.

Early survey results revealed there is strong demand for a wide range of services including study and family learning facilities, adult education, local history sessions and meeting space.

In addition, there is a call for health and well-being classes and support, money advice, film and music clubs, vintage fairs and even hot-desking facilities for small businesses.

Regenerus Chief Executive, Cate Murphy, commented: “There was a very good turnout  of enthusiastic Carnegie supporters at this meeting and we’re very grateful to them for taking the time and trouble to attend.

“A considerable amount of work has now been done on coming up with an action plan for the building, and the Plaza event was a very good opportunity to tell local people about the progress that has been made to date, and hear their comments about it.

“Our job now is to ‘put some flesh on the bones’ of our initial designs and to seek out sources of funding that could help us turn our plans into reality,” added Mrs Murphy.

*  For more information on the Carnegie project visit www.carnegie-crosby.org.uk.