ACOMB’s Explore library is to get a £750,000 makeover, thanks to a successful bid for Arts Council cash.

The £250k of new Arts Council funding will be added to £500k of capital investment already earmarked by City of York Council.

Full details of the refubishment will be brought to the council’s Executive later this year for approval.

But following a consultation with members of the local community back in March 2023 the revamp is expected to include:

  • a larger children’s library
  • an enlarged café area
  • quiet spaces for anyone who needs to work or study
  • improved toilets, including an extra accessible toilet
  • a Changing Places facility
  • improved meeting rooms and an IT suite to support adult learning and get more adults online
  • an area for community outdoor events
  • moveable shelving to allow for performance spaces.

Library and council bosses say the extra £250k successfully bid for from the Arts Council’s Libraries Improvement Fund will support ‘significant upgrades to the popular library learning centre in Acomb to ensure it continues to be an important asset to the people of Acomb’.

Explore York chief executive Jenny Layfield said: "It is great news that City of York Council has been successful in its bid for Libraries Improvement Funding (LIF), which will enable further capital improvements to the Acomb Explore Library.

“LIF's support underlines Explore's track record in developing York's library services so successfully over many years.”

Cllr Jo Coles, the city council’s executive member for health, wellbeing and adult social care, added: “This successful funding bid is great news and will make a real difference.

“The capital funding from the Arts Council, on top of the £500,000 the council have already committed, will support the library to enhance its existing facilities and also offers further opportunity to expand the ways in which they are able to generate income.

“It will ensure the Acomb Explore library is improved for the whole community in the future.”

While welcome, however, the £750k of capital funding for the revamp of the Acomb library will do nothing to resolve concerns about council plans to cut funding from the York library service’s overall running costs.

As reported in The Press, Explore York Libraries, which is an independent mutual funded by the city council to run the city’s libraries, has been told the authority wants to trim £300,000 from its revenue budget over each of the next two years.

If approved, that would mean Explore's annual council revenue funding being cut by £300,000 this year, from £2.6 million to £2.3 million; and then by another £300,000 next year, down to £2 million - a total cut of £600,000, or more than 20 per cent of the Explore revenue budget, in just two years.

Because the funding is provided under a 15-year contract signed only a few years ago, the council has to negotiate with Explore before it can implement the cuts.

Library bosses at Explore say they have now entered a period of ‘formal confidential contract negotiations’ with the city council over the proposed cuts.

Capital funding is money used for buildings and buildings maintenance; while revenue funding is a separate stream of cash used for staff costs and for running the library service.