Plans for Woodside Library revealed
Work to take Woodside Library down brick by brick and transport it to Black Country Living Museum could start next month, it has been revealed.
The library on Stourbridge Road will be a key feature of the museum’s new multi-million ‘Forging Ahead’ development, focusing on the period between the 1940s and the 1960s.
It opened at the end of the nineteenth century and was refurbished in the early 1970s, but has been shut since 2008.
A planning application has been submitted by Dudley Council asking for permission to start demolition works and deconstruction of the library in February, with a view to handing over to the museum later in the year.
If permission is granted for the library and the adjacent fire station to be demolished, the council will be reviewing the future use of the land to see how it can be used to benefit the local community.
Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of the council, said:
This is an important building with lots of history behind it and I am glad it is hopefully being kept in the borough for future generations to see and enjoy at the museum.
We will be exploring options for use of the site if the permissions are granted for us to move forward with this scheme. But whatever we decide, we will make sure it benefits the local community.
Andrew Lovett, chief executive of Black Country Living Museum, said:
Woodside Library will be one of the largest and most architecturally impressive translocation projects within the Forging Ahead development.
It will enable us to tell stories about education and children’s lives, social life and the role of local authorities in Black Country society, as well as complementing some of the other new buildings in our new 1940s to 60s town in their portrayal of civic life during the post-war period.