£250,000 of improvements will put Seaton Carew Library 'at the very heart of the community'

A library is set for a quarter of a million pounds of improvements to secure its future.
By Gavin Ledwith
Published 20th Mar 2023, 18:06 BST
Updated 21st Mar 2023, 19:16 BST
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Hartlepool Borough Council will turn Seaton Carew Library, in Station Lane, into “a welcoming, accessible, sustainable and vibrant community hub offering a much wider range of services”.

The council has successfully bid for a £200,000 grant from the Government-backed Libraries Improvement Fund (LIF). The remaining £50,000 is coming from the council itself.

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The improvement work will start in the summer and is expected to be completed at the end of October.

Cllr Bob Buchan, front left, with council assistant director Gemma Ptak, front right, photographed outside of Seaton Carew Library with staff members after the announcement of a huge investment. Picture by FRANK REIDCllr Bob Buchan, front left, with council assistant director Gemma Ptak, front right, photographed outside of Seaton Carew Library with staff members after the announcement of a huge investment. Picture by FRANK REID
Cllr Bob Buchan, front left, with council assistant director Gemma Ptak, front right, photographed outside of Seaton Carew Library with staff members after the announcement of a huge investment. Picture by FRANK REID

It will include energy efficiency measures such as replacing the roof, double glazing and improved lighting.

Automatic doors will be installed at the main entrance and an accessible toilet added.

There will be new carpets and flooring and most of the books will be relocated into the existing children’s library space. In common with Hartlepool’s other community hubs, a local artist will be commissioned to paint a mural depicting a popular children’s story to enhance the children’s reading area.

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The existing office and staff room will be relocated to create a private meeting room for use by community groups and for hire to generate income for the library. The kitchen will also be relocated and upgraded to provide an area for refreshments to be sold.

Seaton Carew Library, in Station Lane, is to receive £250,000 of improvements.Seaton Carew Library, in Station Lane, is to receive £250,000 of improvements.
Seaton Carew Library, in Station Lane, is to receive £250,000 of improvements.

A new footpath will connect the library to the nearby Seaton Park and its additional parking spaces. In addition, an outdoor seating area will in be created at the library, complemented by a wildflower garden, providing a greater opportunity for more cultural activities to take place outdoors.

​Councillor Bob Buchan, chair of the council’s adult and community-based services committee, said: “We are delighted and very grateful to receive this funding.

“It will transform this 50-year-old building into a warm and welcoming environment which is accessible to everyone and which people will want to visit regularly and enjoy spending time in.

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“Turning it into a community hub will allow us to co-locate in it services which have proved so popular in our other community hubs, such as Jobs and Skills, the Support Hub, Wellbeing, the Fablab and Digital Inclusion and allow us to provide space for external partner organisations to deliver support such as financial advice and mental health. It will put the building at the very heart of the community.”

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Related topics:Hartlepool Borough CouncilGovernmentHartlepoolWellbeing