PLANS are moving forwards to bring Nailsea’s former library back to life for a commercial venture — but it is still a mystery what exactly it could be.
The octagonal town-centre building has sat empty since July, with the library relocating to Collier’s Walk after 50 years in the building. North Somerset Council then announced it had sold it — with rumours in the town speculating that it could become a restaurant.
Now new owners Media Developments (Nailsea) have taken the first step to repurposing the building and submitted a change of use application to the council.
The application said: “The ‘E’ use class proposed will allow a broad-brush range of commercial uses at the application site in a location at the heart of a town centre where these uses are encouraged.
“The proposed uses will reanimate an empty focal building within the primary shopping area with a long-term viable use.”
The application added that approving commercial uses for the building would bring jobs to the town, and increase footfall in the centre. It said that it would allow the “flexibility” for the future use of the building to respond to market demand.
The council moved the library out of the old building after warning that it was beyond its end of life and in poor condition. The building also needed repairs to its roof and did not meet modern accessibility standards.
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