Land exchange deal to preserve Blackheath library
Land is to be sold off to raise cash to buy a Sandwell library building – securing its future – and build new homes.
A ‘land swap’ plan is being considered by planning bosses which will see Sandwell Council take over full control of Blackheath Library and also create a community and voluntary services hub there.
The distinctive glass-fronted building on the High Street is owned by Black Country Housing Group (BCHG) which is closing its offices and moving staff out.
The swap involves the council selling the site of its “outdated” offices at Payne Street, Blackheath, land in Meredith Street, Upper High Street, Cradley Heath, land at 106a Birmingham Road, Rowley Regis, and the former Shaftesbury House site in High Street, West Bromwich, to BCHG.
As part of the deal, BCHG would build 88 homes in total on the four pockets of exchanged land. A report to the cabinet says the land sale would raise more than needed to buy the three-storey library building, which opened in 2011, and would also generate an extra £61,200 a year in council tax.
Decline
A factor in the move is the decline in the number of people using the ground-floor library in recent times.
Under the plan, the library would share its space with local services, such as neighbourhood and housing, welfare rights advice, social work and children’s services, and provide support with digital systems like access to on-line services, Wi-Fi, and digital skills training. It is also proposed to bring voluntary and community sector services into the building. BCHG has given the council first option to buy the library.
In the report, Dr Alison Knight, executive director of neighbourhood services, said: “The library’s long-term future and sustainability is likely to be impacted by the desire of BCHG to move out of the building.
“The proposals will result in the council modernising local services for Rowley Regis town and support the building of affordable housing units across the borough.”
She described the council’s Payne Street offices as “outdated” and said staff and services currently located there and at Harvest Road would move to Blackheath Library. The re-development of the sites would provide much-needed affordable housing, added Dr Knight.
However some jobs may be lost as a result of the move, she warned.
The cabinet will be asked to evaluate the costs, acquire the freehold interest in the library building and to authorise the sale of those sites considered surplus to requirements.
