Bicester’s old library could be knocked down and turned into houses, but Cherwell District Council is not completely sure that the plan would go ahead.
The building in Old Place Yard has been empty and boarded-up since its closure in March 2016 before the council opened a new multi-million-pound library off Manorsfield Road.
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The council, as site owners, submitted a planning application in 2020 seeking permission to demolish the library and build three terraced houses in its place.
It was approved on October 7 last year, but the council now says 'no final decisions have been taken' as to how it will redevelop the site.
A council spokesperson said: “The project to redevelop the old Bicester library site and find a new use for it is a longstanding and complex one.
"Challenges include the need to undertake archaeological investigations, but the council is committed to finding a viable solution for the site.”
Prior approval was also granted back in September 2020 to demolish the library.
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The project would be part of Cherwell District Council’s award-winning ‘Build!’ initiative where the authority looks at alternative ways to deliver affordable homes for local people.
The plans included building three affordable family homes in a single terrace, each with three bedrooms, a front garden and back garden with a small walled patio area.
In the past, people had made calls for the old library to be repurposed into a community centre.
Joanne Barrow, from Bicester, who runs a friendship and lunch club for older people called Forget Me Not, said it would have made an ‘ideal’ community space, but that changing it to homes is ‘suitable’.
She said: “I feel personally that is a suitable use of the space. I do however feel it is a shame that the old library wasn’t allowed to be used by the community from its closure as a library until it is due to be demolished.”
But despite people saying they’d rather see the old court turned into a museum or community centre, a host of letters of support reveal some people do support the plans, saying more housing is needed in Bicester.
Just a handful of letters were sent to the council about demolishing the library, with the lack of parking provision being the main concern raised.
The library was built in the 1950’s and was extended to the south in 1995 and to the north in 1999.
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