Save Manchester’s Library Walk!

Aidan Turner-Bishop and the Manchester Modernists have alerted us to a last chance to save Library Walk from the proposed glazed link which will block off one of the most powerful and characteristic public spaces in Manchester.

Aside from the obstruction to a much-used public right of way, this narrow curved space between two listed buildings is important to the setting of the handsome circular Central Library by E Vincent Harris (1934) which is listed Grade II*. I have to declare a particular personal attachment to the library, as both my parents worked there and were regular visitors to the Library Theatre in the 1950s. The library itself is being refurbished at a reported cost of £170m, and the public square in front of it re-landscaped – so why spoil the job by needlessly blocking off library walk?

There is now an opportunity to prompt a public inquiry and review of the project, so if you agree, do help protect this beautiful public space by writing a letter in its defence to the City Solicitor, by 28 February. There are further details on the C20 North West regional group’s page and on the Friends of Library Walk website – don’t delay, write today!