Work on a major extension at a Huddersfield village’s community hub should start in 2025.

Honley Library needs £300,000 for an extension and a fundraising appeal masterminded by  the Friends of Honley Library has raised around £60,000 towards it and planning permission has now been granted.

Ideally the Friends want to raise £100,000 before the scheme begins but is considering doing the work in phases to at least get started in 2025.

The library, which has been transformed into a community hub hosting almost 300 events a year, desperately needs public toilets – it now only has a small cramped one off the kitchen – and a new entrance so they will be the first priority and the work will then move into creating more space inside.

The Government’s £150m Community Ownership Fund to support community groups across the UK to take ownership of assets which are at risk of being lost to the community paid £10,000 for surveys and other costs towards the planning process. This allowed the Friends to apply for planning permission which was granted in September.

Unfortunately the Government announced on December 23 that it was stopping the fund which has happened before the Friends have been able to submit an application to it for a lot more funding.

In a statement to groups that had been involved with the Fund, the Government said: “We have taken this difficult decision due to the challenging inheritance left by the previous government.

“While we are closing the Community Ownership Fund, this government remains committed to the communities sector and community empowerment. There will be further Government announcements relating to communities in the new year, including on the community ownership of assets.”

The hardworking trustees have been busy putting in applications for other funding too and plan to submit two more large applications for funding soon.

The plans were drawn up for free by Huddersfield architects AHR.

 

Trustee Jenny Lockwood said: “We are so lucky to have a very strong board of trustees and the library has become the centre of a warm, vibrant community in Honley. One of our regular visitors is 98-year-old Jack and he’s told us he wants to see the library extension done before his 100th birthday.”

When complete, the extension will improve the community area, create more desk and workspaces, provide a new kitchen and storage space and, mostly importantly, provide new accessible toilets and baby-changing facilities.

The vast majority of events in the library are linked to books and the arts.

The Friends of Honley Library and Holme Valley Parish Council saved the library in 2015. An asset transfer was eventually completed in 2021 and the building is now owned by the parish council and leased by the Friends but they receive an annual grant from the council which covers all the running costs.

Jenny said: “We can’t over-emphasise the fantastic support we’ve had from the parish council. This means we can concentrate on raising money to enhance the building and organise activities and events.

“Honley is such a wonderfully community-focused village and we are always looking for feedback on what we are doing at the library, along with what else we can do, and the extension plans are all public so people are more than welcome to comment on them.”

 

 

2024 has been a phenomenal year with the library transformed into the village’s central hub.

Over the last 12 months it had 22,267 visits, volunteers have put in an amazing 1,500 hours, 41 people have joined the Friends of Honley Library, 199 new people have joined the library and, most amazing of all, 291 events have been held there.

These have ranged from talks by best-selling authors such as Huddersfield’s Joanne Harris through to Babies into Books sessions, a Lego club, knit and natter, crafts, a book club, lacemaking and lots of fundraisers.

Volunteer and secretary of the Friends of Honley Library Emma Sutton said: “Volunteers have put so much of their own time into supporting the library, keeping it open, running events, baking, raising funds, writing bids, sorting the shelves and more.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg but it shows that we have things for everyone from newborn babies all the way through to our eldest patrons who come for a cuppa and a chat and are nearly 100 years old.

“We have helped people fill in benefit forms, print out instructions to drive from their house to a hotel for a holiday, downloaded Which reports to help them choose the best appliance, soothed the worries of a lady who thought she might have given hackers access to her personal details and so much more.”

 

Honley Library. Image by: Sean Doyle

 

The library opens on Tuesdays (1pm-6pm); Wednesdays 10am-1pm; Fridays 1pm-5pm; and Saturdays 10am-1pm.

It has one 15-hours-a-week Kirklees Council community service officer and a team of 30 dedicated volunteers.

In February this year, Kirklees Council announced a major shake-up of its libraries in a bid to save money and there was a risk Honley would lose its greatly valued council staff member but they have managed to keep her so far.

For more information on the library go to www.friendsofhonleylibrary.org.uk or search for them on Facebook.

To donate to the extension fund go to the https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/honleylibrary

Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content, copywriting and ghost-writing autobiographies.

 

Honley Show was a great day out for young and old – with all creatures great and small