Could the library move to the old M&S store be back on?
01/07/2025
Oxfordshire County Council has confirmed the planned move to the old Wilko store is off
The old M&S unit at Castle Quay Shopping Centre could soon have a new tenant.
Cherwell District Council’s Executive will tonight discuss granting a new lease for the unit, which has been empty since 2020.
But the matter will be discussed in private with the public and press excluded and the agenda for the meeting doesn’t reveal any further details of who the tenant might be.
Previous plans to move the County Council’s library service into the building stalled when the Lib Dem controlled County Council couldn’t agree terms with the then Conservative controlled district council.
Despite planning permission for the old M&S unit to be used as a library being granted in April 2022, the county council abandoned its plans and began progressing a move to the old Wilko store in Bridge Street.
In September last year Councillor Dan Levy, who’s the finance portfolio holder at the authority, told a meeting of Oxfordshire County Council: “The saga of Banbury Library has been going on for a long time. It was partly driven by the inability of the previous administration at Cherwell District Council to reach agreement with this Council about moving into Castle Quay. We’ve got around that by looking at another site.
“I understand the fitting out is potentially imminent and I am very hopeful indeed that you will have a working library, which the residents of Banbury have long been waiting for and deserve, in the near future.”
But despite the promise Banbury Library remains in its old building in Marlborough Road. A County Council spokesperson has today confirmed to Banbury FM that a move to the former Wilko store is no longer being pursued, but they were unable to give any further details.
Since the initial discussions on the use of the old M&S unit for a library stalled, control of Cherwell District Council has now been taken over by the Lib Dems, with the County Council remaining a Lib Dem controlled authority.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
Reader's opinions
Leave a Reply
N/A On 01/07/2025 at 3:39 pm
I worked in castle quay as a security officer and worked close with the council and escorted them in this old unit, and i can confirm they will be turning it into the council