Krol Corlett completes £3.3m Carlisle Library refurbishment
One of seven projects from the city’s £19.7m Towns Fund award, the library’s refresh has created classrooms for adult digital literacy courses and skills development workshops, a dedicated children’s library, and study spaces.
Situated within the The Lanes Shopping Centre, the Carlisle Library also has space to show off its Jackson Collection, which boasts thousands of items from the 1600s onwards that provide an insight into the city’s heritage.
Main contractor Krol Corlett Construction spent 50 weeks on the project, which included extensive work to upgrade the library’s mechanical and electrical infrastructure. This work took up £1.1m of the £3.3m budget for the scheme, which was funded through £2.35m from the Town Deal and around £1m from Cumberland Council.
Curl La Routelle Head Architecture designed the refreshed library, while Curtins provided structural engineering expertise. Petit Singleton Associates led on building services. Fulkers Bailey Russell was the quantity surveyor. Cumberland Council was the project manager.
Krol Corlett regional manager Craig Ward said described the library scheme as “a fascinating project”.
“Ensuring universal access to digital resources has never been more important, given the rise and usefulness of AI tools, so great credit is due to our client for having the foresight to invest in such a resource,” he said.
“We’re pleased that our skills in managing live sites enabled the library to continue to operate throughout our works and serve the people of Carlisle.”
Cumberland Council’s executive member for vibrant and healthy places, Cllr Anne Quilter, was pleased with Krol Corlett’s performance on the job, which included taking on two electrical apprentices and working with local sub-contractors.
“What stood out throughout this project was the way Krol Corlett worked alongside library staff, taking real care to understand their working environment and minimise disruption wherever possible,” she said.
“Their partnership approach has created opportunities for local apprentices, young people and tradespeople, while helping to deliver a fantastic new-look library for Carlisle.
“It has been wonderful to see so many residents already making use of the new space, and the overwhelmingly positive response shows just how valued this investment is by the community.”
The refurbishment of Carlisle Library is the third Carlisle Town Deal project to complete. The first was a £918,000 investment in improving Tullie House Museum – a move that has already resulted the museum’s visitors numbers increasing to more than 60,000.
The second was the remediation of land at Caldew Riverside, which received technical sign off in May. The site is due to be disposed of for development in March 2028, according to minutes from May’s Carlisle Town Board meeting.
Other Town Deal projects include enhancing the public realm of the city’s southern gateway, which is underway, the introduction of a public park at Hammond’s Park, part of the future St Cuthbert’s Garden Village, improvements to the city’s lighting, and the creation of a Carlisle Business Exchange at the Citadels.
