Two-week delay for New Brighton Library reopening

New Brighton Library will reopen two weeks later than expected.

Originally planned to close for seven weeks for a regular refurbishment, the popular seaside library will now reopen on Monday 27 November after Christchurch City Council discovered a number of issues with the building.

“The issues are minor, fixable, and not a huge surprise given the building’s age and location,” says Carolyn Robertson, Head of Libraries and Information.

“Our contractors have discovered a few minor leaks which will need some plumbing and new wall linings, and some superficial cracks in the floor slab, which we’ve had checked by a structural engineer.

“All of these are easy fixes, and we're seizing the opportunity to tidy them up now so that we can keep disruption to a minimum.”

New Brighton Library closed on 25 September for a layout change, new carpet, floor tiles, soft furniture, LED lighting and window treatments, as well as a paintjob and a refresh of the foyer bathroom.

Salt on the Pier café remains open as normal, although visitors can’t enter via the main library foyer.

Reserved items are being made available for customers to collect from Parklands Library unless otherwise requested. Items cannot be returned to New Brighton Library during this period but can be returned to any other library across the city network.

The mobile library is visiting New Brighton throughout the closure period. See the schedule here.

The nearest alternative libraries are Parklands Library at 46 Queenspark Drive and Aranui Library at 109 Aldershot Street.