Leicestershire Pilots New Integrated Day Care Service in Libraries

Leicestershire County Council is improving services and saving money by proposing to run day care from its largest library.

Work is well underway on a major new project that will integrate day care provision for adults with services in Loughborough Library. Led by Leicestershire County Council, the project is believed to be one of the first in the country and will make council services much more accessible to members of the public and enable them to enjoy a wider variety of services under one roof.

This project is part of the council’s wider day care services strategy and as well as the benefits to local people, the move will help the council make significant savings in the future by relocating services currently housed in other buildings.

Last month, the Council’s Cabinet approved plans for the project to be piloted at Loughborough Library.

The library will be extended and refurbished to include modern fully equipped accommodation to provide day care services including activity areas, office space, a kitchenette, an area for therapeutic activities and it will also have an open air courtyard.

The work will also allow for a major local studies collection about the history of Loughborough and the County to be relocated from the first floor of the library to the ground floor making it more easily accessible to library users.

The new integrated service will offer a full range of day care services for people with physical or learning disabilities and will provide the opportunity for them to use the library and its resources whilst in the vicinity. Loughborough Library is located centrally and offers easy access to other services and facilities in the town.

Subject to planning permission, it is anticipated that the project at the library will be completed by summer next year. The project may be extended to include other libraries within the county in the future.

David Sprason, Leicestershire County Councils Cabinet Member for Adults and Communities said: “This new way of delivering services to Leicestershire people will ensure that members of the public are able to access important day care services whilst being able to enjoy a whole range of other facilities and resources at our libraries. I am pleased that we are amongst the first in the Country to take on this initiative that will shape how council services are delivered in the future.”

(Further information can be found in the Cabinet Report in the attached PDF document)