TOXTETH LIBRARY, LIVERPOOL

15 December 2009

More than a million pounds of Lottery funding is helping to refurbish an historic Liverpool library.

Toxteth Community Library closed in November 2008 to make way for the project, which will transform the Grade II listed building and vastly improve its facilities.  The site is due to reopen in the autumn of 2009.

To help renovate the library’s 40 original sash and casement windows contractor B&D Croft of Leigh, Lancashire, turned to the experts from Ventrolla.

Richard Ellis, managing director of Ventrolla Lancashire, said: “Toxteth Library is an important facility for the local community and we are pleased to have played a part in its rejuvenation.

“The windows were very large and many had an arched shape which made for a more challenging project.  Nevertheless we were able to carry out the renovation work in good time and completed the project by laminating the window glass to reduce noise ingress from outside.”

Toxteth Library originally opened in 1902 and attracts around 1,000 visitors a week, including many from the local Chinese community who come to make use of its extensive range of Chinese language books.

The £1.3m grant from the Big Lottery Fund has funded all repair work, plus the creation of new study areas, meeting rooms, exhibition space, a refreshment area and performance space.  The library will also have new computers and Wi-Fi internet access installed throughout, while adding many new books to its collection.

John Keane, learning and social inclusion manager for Liverpool City Council’s library services department, said: “It’s great to be able to open the whole building to everyone and bring it up to date. 

“We have a big basement and gallery, which have been closed to the public for many years, which will now be brought back into use”

Ventrolla’s central office is based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, with offices throughout the UK and Ireland, and offers a bespoke renovation service for timber sliding sash and casement windows. 

Its unique Ventrolla Perimeter Sealing System (VPSS) improves the window’s performance and energy efficiency.

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