Mayor Steve Rotheram hails new chapter for library of the future – that will offer local people training and opportunities

Previously Spellow Library, situated in the heart of Walton in North Liverpool, was open just three days a week and typical for a 1960s building had poor accessibility, no toilets and limited services.

Now following a radical, community-led makeover – the renamed Spellow Hub will be the first facility of its kind in the north of England to offer a complete “education to employment” service for people of all abilities.

Inside the new Spellow Hub in Liverpool.

Improving the accessibility of the County Road building was a key priority for the project, enabling people to visit the revamped hub who previously would have been unable.

Fitted with a new ramped entrance, platform lift and induction loop for hearing aid users, the building is also the first in the city to be retrofitted with a Changing Place provision, providing a wheelchair accessible toilet, ceiling hoist, adjustable changing bed and change facilities for carers.

Spellow Hub will be open six days a week, Monday to Saturday, offering:

• Library services – with full digital access, including free use of tablets (Self-service on Tuesday and Friday).
• An enterprise business service.
• Training and skills programmes for long term unemployed.
• Free to use “smart” classrooms, bookable online via Spellow.library@liverpool.gov.uk
• Flexible spaces for learning i.e. coding workshops, parent& toddler groups etc.
• A One Stop Shop to access Council services – open Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4pm.
• Art gallery fixtures to celebrate local creativity.

The transformational refurbishment was funded by Mayor Steve Rotheram’s Liverpool City Region Town Centre Fund, which set aside £6m – up to £1 million for each of Liverpool City Region’s six local authorities – to support plans to revitalise town centres.

It has funded masterplan strategies, public realm improvements, physical and digital infrastructure, business support, town centre management and events and marketing activities in Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral.

The makeover has seen more than a fifth of the building previously used for back-office storage unlocked for community use.

Its opening is seen as a vital step in the regeneration of the area which lies in the third most deprived ward in the UK and is also set to be affected by Everton FC’s move away from nearby Goodison Park in the next two years.

Councillor Harry Doyle, Cabinet Member for Culture and Libraries, said:

“Spellow Hub is just wow! If you saw what it looked like before, you won’t recognise it. It’s the same building from the outside, but inside it’s been completely transformed into this wonderfully welcoming, inclusive and safe space.

“It’s been designed to encourage learning and creativity for people of all abilities and you can feel that the moment you walk through the door. The equipment and resources on offer are just top notch.

“The people of Walton have been very patient waiting for their library to re-open – and thanks to Mayor Steve Rotheram’s Town Centre Fund they’ve been rewarded because they’re getting a fantastic facility that is so much more than a library.

“Spellow Hub has set a template for how councils can serve a community and help it thrive, providing access to education, training and employment and it also sets the blueprint for how we can engage with other partners to deliver services together under one roof.

“The convenience and accessibility of Spellow Hub, as well as the quality of its facilities and the depth of its services, means its value to the people of Walton will be immeasurable. It’s a place to learn, to meet and to shine. And I’m sure they will.”