Deal struck for £50m Liverpool library revamp
LIVERPOOL City Council has agreed a £50m PFI deal for the redevelopment of the city’s central library.
The work will be carried out by the Inspire Partnership, a joint venture between York-based Shepherd Construction and London’s Amber Infrastructure.
The architects are Austin-Smith: Lord, which has offices in Liverpool and Manchester and worked on the extension to John Rylands Library. Facilities management will be carried out by Cofely.
The 150-year-old library lies in Liverpool’s UNESCO world heritage site and will now undergo two years of renovations that will see the restoration of grade II listed parts of the building and alterations to areas constructed in the post-war era.
Mike Leto, project director from Amber Infrastructure, said: “We are delighted to have reached financial close having worked so hard to reach this point. We can now concentrate on finalising the construction programme and look forward to work starting in November. The development will deliver a fantastic new library and archive in partnership with the city of Liverpool.”
Council leader Joe Anderson said: “Liverpool Central Library is one of the UK’s most celebrated public libraries but it desperately needs this renovation so the approval of this scheme is one of the best bits of news the city will hear this year. The scale of this project is immense and it will take some time to complete, but I’m sure the wait will be well worth it.’’
Renovation work will start in the autumn and the building is due to reopen at the end of 2012. A temporary library service will operate from August 9 on the 2nd floor of the nearby World Museum Liverpool.
