Holme Valley Parish Council has taken ownership of Honley Library

Published: 19 February 2021

Kirklees Council is to transfer ownership of Honley Library to Holme Valley Parish Council. The Parish Council is delighted to help preserve this important community asset for the Holme Valley community and the people of Honley in particular.

The Parish Council will, in turn, lease the building to the Friends of Honley Library community group which has supported and helped to develop the existing services since 2013. Significant financial support for the Library has already been ringfenced by the Parish Council in its budget and reserves for the year ahead.

Before the current closure due to Covid regulations, the library was open for 19 hours a week with Kirklees library staff working alongside volunteers. Under a five-year agreement as part of the asset transfer arrangements, Kirklees Library Service will continue to provide its current level of service with the day-to-day management of the library being undertaken by the Friends.

“We have been working for over three years to make this asset transfer happen in order to ensure a more secure future for this important local resource,” said Jenny Lockwood, chair of the trustees of FOHL. “None of this could have happened without the tremendous support of Holme Valley Parish Council and Kirklees Library Services,” she said.

Similarly, from the Parish Council’s point of view, this development could not have happened without the committed partnership working of the board and management team of the Friends of Honley Library and its enthusiastic, hard-working volunteers. On behalf of the Parish Council, we want to express our appreciation to all those involved, to congratulate the Friends, and to wish them every success in their forthcoming venture. The Parish Council offers you our full support and backing for your endeavours.

We hope that the people of Honley will make great use of their library and embrace its many, creative, wide-ranging services, classes, resources and opportunities in the years ahead.