Nottingham City Council has announced that Sherwood Library will be opening on Friday, 17 April – more than two years after the developer behind the scheme handed the building over to the authority for its final fit-out.
While campaigners have expressed delight at the announcement, the path to this point has been long-winded.
Development has been marred by problems, poor communication, and a “tug-of-war game” between the council and the developer that left locals angry and disappointed.
The library site, on Spondon Street, was owned by Nottingham City Council and included former social services offices, a car park, and three retail units, as well as the existing library.
Originally opened in 1957, the authority said the old building was in poor repair and the library no longer met the standards expected by its users.
Therefore, in 2017, the council held a consultation and carried out an exercise to find a preferred contractor to buy and develop the site.
That year, a consultation poster said the council was “at the very start of what could be a lengthy process” but that it was hoping to have the opportunity put out to prospective developers early in 2018.
In December 2020, that prospective buyer was named as Hockley Developments.
It was sold to the city-based developer on an agreement that the library would be built at no capital cost to the council, and that a 125-year lease would be created at a nominal rent.
In return, Hockley Developments was allowed to build a number of homes and a retail offering on the rest of the site.
Upon the signing of the deal that month, Alan Forsyth, managing director at Hockley Developments, said: “We expect to be on site early in 2021 after submitting planning in December this year – with the library handed over in late summer 2022, and further housing being completed over the following 12 months.”
In November 2023, the Sainsbury’s store was completed and opened to the public, and Hockley Developments said the library had been handed over to the council for the final fit-out.
In March 2024 a contractor employed to work on the library building, Dako Construction, had actually collapsed into administration in 2023.
This had all happened behind closed doors.
It had – as it turned out – severely hampered progress on the scheme before a new contractor was eventually found.
The council’s own contractors ended up finding 134 defects in the building after it had been handed over.
These issues ranged from fire access hatch problems and fire safety sign-off, to cracked windows, a malfunctioning watering system for the living wall, and a leak in the atrium.
They delayed the final fit-out and the planned opening of the library past the summer, and in September 2024, Cllr Sam Lux (Lab), executive member for carbon reduction, leisure and culture, said they would be resolved within three weeks.
A pledge made to get the facility open before Christmas 2024.
Mr Conway described the saga as “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, and a response to his Freedom of Information request revealed 60 defects remained.
Christmas came and went, but the library doors remained firmly shut.
A “tug-of-war game” between Hockley Developments and the council ensued in 2025, with the authority claiming it was the developer’s responsibility to resolve the problems.
A statement from the council in April said: “We remain disappointed that, after previous assurances, we are still awaiting confirmation of key dates from them for when these works will take place before we programme in the final fit-out work required to reopen the library.”
Meanwhile, Hockley Developments hit back, saying: “The council preferred to do their own fit-out – in hindsight, it may have been better if Hockley Developments (Mansfield Road) Ltd had fitted out the first floor as well as the other floors, and this floor could therefore have been occupied at the same time as the other floors.”
The murky dialogue between the two parties prompted several well-attended protests outside the library, including an event where locals read their books outdoors in lieu of the library building they had been promised for so long.
Cllr Adele Williams (Lab), who represents the Sherwood ward, set up a petition calling on her own ruling Labour Group to commit to a concrete opening date.
She said the petition would be used to advocate for getting the library open by 15 July – including via legal means.
Once again, this failed to materialise.
The council’s leader, Cllr Neghat Khan, said she had made the problem her own personal responsibility, and Hockley Developments was threatened with legal action if it failed to resolve the outstanding problems.
In October that year, Cllr Khan made a promise the library would open in early 2026.
Then, on 12 January this year, the council said the fit-out had finally commenced.
‘This is a really important moment for the community’
In an update on 30 March, Cllr Khan confirmed the library would open on 17 April.
“This is a really important moment for the community,” she said.
“We know how much this library means to local people. Throughout this journey, residents have told us how much they’ve missed it and how important it is to have this space back at the heart of Sherwood.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the community come back together here and make it their own once again.”
While the living wall in the atrium has died, almost as did the hopes of many locals, it has been replaced by artificial greenery.
However, real plants and flowers from Woodthorpe Park Nursery will feature on a balcony area for the public to enjoy.
A spokesperson for Hockley Developments said the developer believes the population will “love” the open-plan space it built.
“We believe Nottingham City Council has done an excellent job fitting this space out and are confident visitor numbers will be strong,” the spokesperson said.
“It is a far cry from the old Sherwood Library, which had toilets in a portaloo in the car park, draughty windows, and a lack of resources.
“As we have seen, Sainsbury’s and the residential flats have been a great success and a welcome addition to Sherwood on the ground floor and second floors, and it will be great to see the first floor now fully utilised as well.”
