New use found for former Shawbury Library
A new use has been found for a room in a village hall which housed a former library.
The former library section of Shawbury Village Hall has been transformed to serve as a split storehouse and function room.
Now serving a dual purpose, the room has been modified and divided, creating a new function room available for public hire, and a separate storage facility for the local amateur dramatics group, The Shawbury Players.
The decision to include a new function room for hire was made by the Shawbury Village Hall Committee, with a view to allow the hall to recoup some of the earnings it no longer makes from the library.
Peter Medley, vice chairman of the committee, said: "We are very pleased with how the transformation has turned out.
"We had to do something with the library – we couldn't just leave it empty. We wanted to put it to public use so it would become a better facility for the local community."
The function room will suitably serve private parties, club meetings and certain sports and games groups.
Shawbury Library closed on September 24 last year as part of Shropshire Council cuts.
The decision was made after no-one came forward to take over the running of the service from the council.
The library has been replaced with a mobile service, which runs in the village hall car park.
The closure of the library was confirmed by Shropshire Council’s cabinet following a period of consultation.
Shawbury Parish Council said it could not afford to keep the village library open as it would have cost it about half of its budget.
Last year the unitary authority’s cabinet also confirmed plans to cut a total of 57 opening hours across 11 of the county’s libraries.
Bridgnorth Library has seen a reduction of 11 and a half hours, Ludlow – six hours, Market Drayton – five and a half hours, Oswestry – eight hours, Shrewsbury will see a reduction of eight and a half hours, Whitchurch – three hours, Bayston Hill – two and a half hours, Gobowen – two hours, Much Wenlock – two hours, Shrewsbury, The Lantern – three hours, and Wem – five hours.
With all work now completed on the former Shawbury library in the village hall, interested parties in hiring the function room are advised to contact Mr Medley on 01939 250024.
