Unveiled - £7m plans for city's new cultural centre

An art gallery and museum space are among the features proposed by Hampshire County Council which wants to combine the lending and reference libraries currently at Jewry Street and North Walls respectively.

There will also be a coffee bar, computer facilities and education rooms as well as a community hall for performances and lectures.

Plans, drawings and a model will be on display in the library from Thursday,. November 18th, to Saturday, December 11th.

Although the scheme means the loss of 45 parking spaces, it won majority backing in a public consultation exercise last year.

County architects say the extension to the rear and Theatre Royal-facing side of the Grade II listed building has been designed to be in keeping.

The new wing will be set back from the pavement and a new public space, called the Theatre Square, will be created.

The county is considering rehousing the local studies section of the library in the Records Office at Sussex Street, combining local history and archives.

Winchester City Council has pledged £1m towards the centre where it will host its own art and museum collections as well as major national exhibitions for the first time.

Leader, Sheila Campbell, said: "We are delighted by the drawings we have seen so far. They make excellent use of the space and give due prominence to the fine library building which is rightly much admired.

"The internal refurbishment aims to rediscover some of the historic features of the building at the same time as providing a venue for enhancing the cultural life of the city."

Building work could start in Spring 2005 and the county council aims to submit a planning application before the end of this month.

The project will be phased to allow the library to remain open on the Jewry Street site when construction starts. Once the new extension is built, the library will move into the new part of the building, while the existing library is refurbished.