Help shape the future of Levenshulme Old Library
For the past eight years, Levenshulme Old Library has been home to community groups, arts and cultural activity, local organisations, events, workshops and thousands of visitors. Now we’re starting to think about the long-term future of the building – what works, what doesn’t, what needs to change and what we should protect.
We’re working with architects Editional Studio on a new feasibility study exploring how the Old Library could be improved and adapted for the future.
Tell us what you think
If you use the Old Library – regularly, occasionally or just once in a while – we’d love to hear from you. We’d also really like to hear from local people who don’t currently use the building.
We’ve put together a short questionnaire asking about your experience of the Old Library: how you use the spaces and facilities, accessibility, comfort, what works well and what could be improved.
This consultation is specifically about the building itself, rather than activities and events you’d like to see take place here. We want to understand what the physical building needs to do better for the people and organisations who use it now – and those who might use it in future.
The questionnaire is open until Friday 9th October 2026 and all questions are optional.
What happens next?
The questionnaire is just one part of the process.
Editional Studio will also be spending time in the building in the coming weeks, talking directly to the people and organisations who use it. We’ll also be speaking to local residents, partners and other organisations, with further opportunities to get involved as the work develops. Everything we learn will feed into the feasibility study, which will explore possible improvements to the building, outline options and costs, and help us put together a longer-term roadmap for its future.
No decisions about the future of the building have already been made. This is the stage where we’re trying to understand what the Old Library needs for its next chapter – and we want the people who know it, use it and live around it to help shape that.
Why now?
Levenshulme Old Library is the charity which was established in 2016 to save our local library building and give it a second life after it closed down. Since 2018, we have managed and maintained the building, but we do not currently own it or have a lease, which restricts our ability to make changes to what it looks like and how it’s laid out. During this time we have been working with Manchester City Council towards finally bringing the building into community ownership. As that process moves forward, we want a clear long-term plan for the building – what needs improving, what should be protected, what investment will be needed and how the building can best serve Levenshulme in the future.
The work is supported by the Architectural Heritage Fund, through the Heritage Revival Fund, funded by the UK Government.
