Hartlepool library's new chapter after new home move is rubberstamped

The town’s Throston Library will move from its longstanding home in Glamorgan Grove to the Throston Youth Project nearby.

Hartlepool Borough Council says the library has seen book borrowing fall in recent years and that the costs of almost £250,000 needed to bring the building up to standard can not be met within existing budgets.

In September 2021, an online consultation was launched on proposals to move the library to a youth centre less than a mile away, with several comments from respondents supporting the relocation.

Catcote Academy has also approached the borough council with a view of using the library building on a long-term basis.

The move has been approved by the council’s adult and community based services committee.

Council officers said no staffing implications were expected and Councillor Sue Little called the proposals a “win-win” for the community.

She told the meeting: “If we don’t relocate now and if we don’t have a council tax increase or anything else, it’s going to go.”

Councillor John Riddle added: “I’m quite excited of the prospect of the library moving to the youth club.

“As a qualified youth leader for more than 40 years, I have engaged with young people throughout the whole of my life.

“Recently I met with some young people who said ‘we would like to talk to more older people to exchange ideas because you make decisions that affect us and we don’t appear to have any input.”

An exact date for the move has still to be confirmed.