Planning permission has now been granted for Phase One of the Library's Building Connections project. Thanks to the generosity of all those who have supported the project, we have secured the required funds to move forward to the next stage and invite tenders from building contractors. We are aiming to start the building works in late July in order to be complete by the end of December 2025.

The new room on the ground floor will be a permanent, dedicated space for a wide variety of uses that focus on our public benefit remit as a charity, such as sixth-form school visits, meetings of our Emerging Writers, exhibitions and displays, and workshops with other charitable organisations. It will provide a venue for our member special interest groups to meet in, as well as hosting speaker events, discussions, and trustee meetings, and will also be available for private hire.

In addition to this, Phase One includes creating a basement kitchen, which will enable our event caterers to stop using the Study as a field kitchen and provide a consolidated storage area for our catering supplies.

Phase One will involve work in small, contained areas of the building, away from main reading rooms and most of the collection. The Library and its architects have long experience in keeping the Library open during works and keeping disruption to a minimum and this remains a priority.

The final design work is continuing while we move to the procurement phase. Please continue to check this website for updates as plans progress including more detailed information about the plans, designs and building works, as well as our FAQs page for more information.

Should you wish to get in touch about our campaign please email us at buildingconnections@londonlibrary.co.uk.