West Wickham Commons Newsletter – July
13th July 2021
Bromley Biodiversity
11th August 2021
Public Consultation for West Wickham Library and Housing Project
The London Borough of Bromley regularly considers opportunities to improve and enhance the Borough’s library sites, to enable the library service to flourish, adapt, and be fit for the future and to provide an excellent community service. As part of this the Council is considering improving and extending the current West Wickham Library.
A small housing development is also proposed on the land behind the library. There is a significant need for affordable housing in the borough and there is also a housing target for the borough set by the GLA. Town centre sites provide an opportunity to meet our housing targets without building on green spaces.
What is the Proposal?
The new West Wickham Library will provide a vibrant and flexible space designed for community use. The Council is planning to extend the existing library building, using the available land effectively to create an imaginative layout.
The new extended library will still provide access to books and information, and will also provide a variety of IT resources, with dedicated spaces for public PCs and laptop stations. Above all, it will be a community space: the library extension will provide additional community services with an event gallery, a new cafe, a maker space, a business lounge for co-working, community space for hire and a new outdoor classroom. Investment in the newly developed West Wickham building will allow use of the library to be increased – and in the longer term will assure its sustainability.
A small housing development is also proposed on the land behind the library. The proposed scheme will be a mix of social housing as well as affordable housing, supporting the delivery and the investment in the library.
The benefits of the Council’s investment in West Wickham library are expected to be:
| – Improvements to the children’s library. – Provision of an outdoor classroom for children’s activities. – Provision of a workshop space with 3D printers. – Provision of community hire space. – More support for job seekers and local businesses. – Increased number of PCs and work/study space. | – Provision of display space for the Bromley Historic Collections. – Provision of Changing Places Community Toilets. – Provision of a café with sheltered outdoor seating. – Improvements to the landscaping around the building. – Improved energy efficiency and sustainability of the building. |
The public exhibition is due to be hosted in West Wickham Library from the 19th July 2021 to 24th July 2021. The project team will be present at the exhibition on the following days during library opening hours:
Monday 19th July; Tuesday 20th July; Thursday 22nd July; Friday 23rd July
Feedback forms will be provided at the library to enable you to have your say.
Two online surveys, one for adults and one for children, will be launched to seek feedback about the library.
For further information please click here.