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Subject to receiving planning permission at the end of 2008 the construction work for the new library is planned to take place from summer 2009 to summer 2010, when the refurbished library is scheduled to reopen.
Whilst the Central Library is being refurbished we will provide a temporary library based in Kensington Town Hall, with an entrance on Campden Hill Road. Whilst this will be a smaller library, it will continue to provide the same range of services delivered currently including a reference and information service; it will accommodate a sizable collection of books, music and DVDs, newspapers and periodicals and will provide computers for public use. During this temporary period the majority of our collections will be in storage. About 10% of our Local Studies and archives collections will be relocated temporarily to Chelsea Library. Another 50% of this collection will be put into storage or temperature controlled storage making only a small collection of Local Studies and archive materials available during this period in the temporary library at the Town Hall.
We examined the option of phasing the work i.e. keeping a part of the building open while refurbishing another area and then moving into the refurbished part while completing the rest of the work. However, this approach would involve several moves before the project is completed, which means that the work would both take longer and be more costly than moving out of the building altogether. In addition, the work will be both noisy and dirty and so would not provide a pleasant place for our customers to use during the refurbishment, and could present health and safety concerns which is not acceptable.
We will need staff to run the temporary library. A lot of our staff who work at the Central Library also work for the wider library service around the Royal Borough and this strategy will continue as usual.
A building contractor has not yet been appointed. Once the detailed plans have been drawn up and planning permission secured, the construction work will be put out to tender. BDP will be drawing up the detailed specifications.
Refurbishment on this scale will inevitably involve some disruption to local streets. We are confident we can manage this efficiently and keep any inconvenience to a minimum. We will work closely with local businesses and residents to ensure that all understand the programme and its implications, that concerns are understood and acted upon. This will involve regular and accessible forms of feedback and close liaison with key representative groups in the local area.
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