By Megan Patterson, News Reporter
The library was set to open in 2026.
The decision to postpone the build was made by the Board of Trustees in 2022, but has only been revealed now.
The design, originally proposed in 2017, includes a publicly accessible ground floor, café, exhibition spaces, and enough space to shelve 420,000 books.
The new library would be built on the site of The Hawthorns, located on the intersection of Woodland Road and Elton Road. Over one hundred years old, the building has seen days as a villa, hotel, offices, student accommodation, and a study lounge.
The new build would also have a number of sustainable features orientated around a ‘passive’ energy scheme in line with the university’s goals for a net carbon neutral campus by 2030.
In the early stages of choosing a design, the university consulted an expert panel and held an open vote, in which 1,400 students and staff voted on a selection of five designs.
However, the library faced an ambiguous reception.
Filiz Emily Gurer
Bristol Civic Society complained in 2019 that the library would ‘overdevelop’ a site which was ‘too small for the building’. Bristol Grammar School’s Headmaster also wrote to the council in 2021 citing concerns for ‘the safety and wellbeing’ of pupils due to redirected traffic from associated pedestrianisation of Woodland Road.
After being voted down by Bristol City Council in 2021, the library was then approved in 2022 by a 6-4 vote.
A University of Bristol spokesperson said,
‘We remain committed to investing in study spaces and library resources to provide the best learning environment and experience for our students.
‘Currently, the library project has been paused, and we do not anticipate reviewing that decision for the next three to five years. We are not cancelling it because we recognise that opportunities may emerge in the future to change this.’
Lenny Osler
Aimee Anderson
Featured image: Hawkins\Brown Architects
