Crumbly Raac concrete was discovered in the building earlier this year, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Hornsey Library is set to fully reopen in June after being closed when crumbly concrete was found in its roof.

Part of the library’s roof contains reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), a type of concrete prone to collapse. The adults’ section of the library has been closed for several weeks while repairs have taken place.

But Haringey Council has now confirmed the library is set to fully reopen on 10th June.

Luke Cawley-Harrison, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group and a ward councillor for Crouch End, where Hornsey Library is located, has welcomed the reopening but says he remains concerned over spending cuts of 31% to the wider libraries service.

Cllr Cawley-Harrison said: “I expect that the more significant remedial works that will need to take place after the crash deck has been installed, whilst absolutely necessary, will be extensive and disruptive to the use of the library.

“Haringey Council should guarantee that this will not be used as an excuse to close parts of Hornsey Library indefinitely, or permanently reduce opening hours, after the Labour administration pushed through sweeping library cuts and reduced opening hours at the majority of Haringey’s libraries in their 2024 budget.”

In response Emily Arkell, cabinet member for culture and leisure, said it was “disingenuous” to raise the subject of library closures again given how the council “value” libraries.

She said: “We appreciate this partial closure has caused disruption but, as residents would expect, safety is our top priority.

“We have also made it abundantly clear on numerous occasions that we value our libraries as much as our residents do, so it is disingenuous for the subject to be raised once again.

“We have been working diligently on mitigation following the precautionary closure of the adults’ section of the library on advice from structural engineers and in line with national guidance. Other parts of the library do not contain Raac and are not impacted.

“Our aim is for the adults’ section to reopen from 10th June following stringent and comprehensive measures to make the area safe and secure.”

Cllr Arkell added the council had recently invested millions into its libraries, “including Hornsey” while other local authorities were “closing theirs”. She highlighted 14 years of central government austerity had forced the council to be innovative as “budgets are tight”.

She said: “The next few years are not going to be easy, but we are continuing to spend £3.5m a year on libraries.

“There is going to be a full public consultation on potential changes to individual library opening hours and no decision will be made until that engagement has taken place and residents have had their say.”

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