Donald Hope Library is set to take on a new lease of life as the next chapter begins for what will be a landmark building in Colliers Wood.

Indicative view of Donald Hope Library

To ensure residents can continue to enjoy their library service while developers build a brand new library for the town, the council has opened a temporary library at Merton Vision, Guardian Centre in Clarendon Road.

Opening times will remain the same and library users will have all the services that they have been used to, albeit on a slightly smaller scale. Residents will be able to see the temporary facilities in action at a special open day on Saturday 1 August 2015 from 9.30am until 5.00pm.

The council has worked in partnership with the developer to ensure library users have a brand new library which can be enjoyed for generations to come , while securing the best deal for all the borough’s tax payers.

The previous 1970s building on High Street, Colliers Wood, will be replaced with a high quality building constructed from Portland stone, reflecting the stone used for the historically significant Charles Holden Colliers Wood tube station. The new library will open in two years’ time and will be spread over three levels. Visitors are set to benefit from more space given over to books, a coffee shop, community meeting rooms, special activity zones and a larger children’s area.

Updates on the development process and community engagement are available on the Donald Hope Library web page.

Merton Council Leader, Councillor Stephen Alambritis said: “The new library for Colliers Wood is excellent news for our residents. Our libraries are going from strength to strength and we are finding ways of providing new facilities that are sustainable and provide good value. We have an award-winning library service which Merton should be proud of and I look forward to seeing this great new library being built over the next couple of years.”

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