Axe poised over £3m library and children's centre

A stalled project to construct a £3 million library and children's centre in Walsall is poised to be scrapped after the council failed to raise enough cash to pay for the development.

Town hall chiefs hoped to use income from the sale of surplus land towards the costs of the long-awaited Bentley Library complex.

But a shortfall in the funds received means the scheme never got off the ground.

The former library in Queen Elizabeth Avenue was closed in 2006 and has since been demolished, with the service currently provided from a van four times a week.

Voluntary group the Old Hall People's Partnership has now offered to house a library facility for the area instead at a set-up cost of £115,000 to refurbish the building, acquire stock and equipment.

Darlaston North and Bentley ward councillor Rose Burley said: "All three councillors are disappointed that we are not going to get the state-of- the art facility that everybody in the area had originally hoped for.

"However, we did insist that residents be consulted over the future of the provision.

"A survey was sent to more than 4,000 households in Bentley and surrounding areas with the result that people wanted a library service, but not necessarily back in the same place.

"This plan put forward by the partnership will be the next best thing.

"We would have a library facility along with the mobile service."

Walsall's head of libraries Sue Grainger said the offer was made a year ago by the partnership, based in Wing Close, under its Bentley Employability and Learning Hub initiative and was at risk of being withdrawn due to the passage of time.

"For them to get it off the ground would require a two-year partnership with us," she said.

"If there are problems any agreement made can be reviewed and remedied."

The council's neighbourhoods scrutiny and performance panel earlier this week agreed to recommend the plan for approval, with regular reviews to be carried out.

A final decision over the proposal will be made by the cabinet committee on October 29.

Residents were consulted over the original development and even selected their favourite design after 72 architects from across Europe submitted bids. Architects, Fashion Architecture Taste (Fat) Ltd, won the design competition. Under the original plans the library is set to feature a distinctive grid-like shell covering and would have housed a pre-school nursery.

Last year the council's estates team put four parcels of land up for sale in an effort to drum up the money.