{"id":2109792,"date":"2026-03-23T13:52:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/?p=2109792"},"modified":"2026-03-23T13:52:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:52:21","slug":"central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme","title":{"rendered":"Central library restored as part of \u00a3110m learning quarter scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Wolverhampton Central Library has undergone a heritage restoration, returning its Grade II*-listed fa\u00e7ade to its original condition as part of the City Learning Quarter redevelopment.<\/p>\n<p>Led by main contractor Speller Metcalfe in collaboration with specialist heritage firm Midland Conservation, the project also included a full roof replacement, renewed leadwork, and like-for-like restoration of the main spire and copper domes.<\/p>\n<p>The work complements internal refurbishments completed earlier this year, which included the reopening of the Adult Lending Library with new flooring, shelving, furniture, and a redesigned rear lobby.<\/p>\n<p>The 1970s rear extension has been remodelled to provide two first-floor offices, new WCs, a kitchenette, and ground-floor space for book deliveries, sorting, and collections.<\/p>\n<p>The broader City Learning Quarter programme also involves upgrading Adult Education Wolverhampton\u2019s Alan Garner Building and constructing a two-storey glazed link connecting it to the library\u2019s 1930s extension.<\/p>\n<p>It is designed to deliver a digitally enabled, modernised Central Library and expanded Adult Education facilities to support post-16 learners and employer training needs.<\/p>\n<p>Councillor Chris Burden, cabinet member for city development, jobs and skills said: \u201cRestoring the library\u2019s historic fa\u00e7ade has preserved an important architectural landmark, while the wider improvements support our vision for the City Learning Quarter. Together with the new college campus, these facilities provide state-of-the-art spaces that enhance learning and employment opportunities across the city.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matthew Bailey, divisional director at Speller Metcalfe said: \u201cCompleting the heritage works at Central Library has been a highlight of the programme. The project preserves an iconic building for the community and lays the groundwork for the next phases of the redevelopment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The City Learning Quarter has been delivered with \u00a361m of council investment, supplemented by \u00a349m from the UK Government and additional grants, including contributions from City of Wolverhampton College.<\/p>\n<p>Its central location, adjacent to the new \u00a3150m transport interchange, ensures high accessibility for learners, staff, and visitors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The property has undergone a heritage restoration, returning its Grade II*-listed fa\u00e7ade to its original condition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":266702,"featured_media":2109793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"coauthors":[127717],"class_list":["post-2109792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","tag-black-country","tag-featured-story"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Central library restored as part of \u00a3110m learning quarter scheme | TheBusinessDesk.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The property has undergone a heritage restoration, returning its Grade II*-listed fa\u00e7ade to its original condition\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Central library restored as part of \u00a3110m learning quarter scheme | TheBusinessDesk.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The property has undergone a heritage restoration, returning its Grade II*-listed fa\u00e7ade to its original condition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"West Midlands\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-23T13:52:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/mar_26\/CentralLibraryHeritage006.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2362\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1575\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ellie Hollinshead\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ellie Hollinshead\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme\",\"name\":\"Central library restored as part of \u00a3110m learning quarter scheme | TheBusinessDesk.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/mar_26\/CentralLibraryHeritage006.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-23T13:52:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-23T13:52:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/#\/schema\/person\/6ffb390af96fe55567054e73554dca0e\"},\"description\":\"The property has undergone a heritage restoration, returning its Grade II*-listed fa\u00e7ade to its original condition\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/mar_26\/CentralLibraryHeritage006.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/mar_26\/CentralLibraryHeritage006.jpg\",\"width\":2362,\"height\":1575},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Central library restored as part of \u00a3110m learning quarter scheme\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/\",\"name\":\"West Midlands\",\"description\":\"Regional business news for West Midlands\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/#\/schema\/person\/6ffb390af96fe55567054e73554dca0e\",\"name\":\"Ellie Hollinshead\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/ddc8230b9dd697ddcb11c379e933ea13\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5d4a87cb28ad00709060085366438c6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5d4a87cb28ad00709060085366438c6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ellie Hollinshead\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/author\/elliehollinshead\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Central library restored as part of \u00a3110m learning quarter scheme | TheBusinessDesk.com","description":"The property has undergone a heritage restoration, returning its Grade II*-listed fa\u00e7ade to its original condition","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Central library restored as part of \u00a3110m learning quarter scheme | TheBusinessDesk.com","og_description":"The property has undergone a heritage restoration, returning its Grade II*-listed fa\u00e7ade to its original condition","og_url":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme","og_site_name":"West Midlands","article_published_time":"2026-03-23T13:52:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2362,"height":1575,"url":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/mar_26\/CentralLibraryHeritage006.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ellie Hollinshead","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ellie Hollinshead","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme","url":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme","name":"Central library restored as part of \u00a3110m learning quarter scheme | TheBusinessDesk.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/mar_26\/CentralLibraryHeritage006.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-23T13:52:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-23T13:52:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/#\/schema\/person\/6ffb390af96fe55567054e73554dca0e"},"description":"The property has undergone a heritage restoration, returning its Grade II*-listed fa\u00e7ade to its original condition","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/mar_26\/CentralLibraryHeritage006.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/_files\/images\/mar_26\/CentralLibraryHeritage006.jpg","width":2362,"height":1575},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2109792-central-library-restored-as-part-of-110m-learning-quarter-scheme#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Central library restored as part of \u00a3110m learning quarter scheme"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/","name":"West Midlands","description":"Regional business news for West Midlands","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/#\/schema\/person\/6ffb390af96fe55567054e73554dca0e","name":"Ellie Hollinshead","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/ddc8230b9dd697ddcb11c379e933ea13","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5d4a87cb28ad00709060085366438c6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5d4a87cb28ad00709060085366438c6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ellie Hollinshead"},"url":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/author\/elliehollinshead"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2109792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/266702"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2109792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2109792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2109793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2109792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2109792"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2109792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}