MAINDEE Library is to be saved and become a community centre after Newport City Council agreed to let a group of volunteers take it over.

This week the council decided to allow regeneration charity Maindee Unlimited take over the library as a community asset – just days before its closure on Tuesday.

The library was forced to close after Newport City Council announced they were making city-wide cuts to library provision and could no longer run it.

Maindee Unlimited will now run the building on licence for 18 months with around 50 volunteers needed each week. If all goes well a longer term arrangement could be set up. 

Plans for the building so far include a drop-in IT facility, a children’s book club, a small lending library and a café run as a social enterprise. The building will also be available to hire out.

Councillor Gail Giles, Newport City Council’s Cabinet member for People and Business Change, made the decision to let Maindee Unlimited take the reins.

She said: “Maindee Unlimited has come forward with exciting plans and a strong business case that should secure this facility for the benefit of the community for the foreseeable future and help it continue to be the ‘beating heart’ of the area."

She said discussions with other groups who wish to do something similar to maintain and develop facilities in their communities are also welcome.

Maindee Unlimited chairman David Moses says the group is absolutely thrilled to be given the opportunity to keep the building open for community use.

He said: “Obviously we would have preferred that the library could have stayed open as it is now. 

“But we hope we can at least keep the building open for community use and offer a limited library service.”

Trustee of Maindee Unlimited, Alison Starling, said it is a "very exciting time" for Maindee.

“It’s a chance for all of us who live or work here to help make this centre what we’d like it to be. So often we feel powerless to change our community. But now we can do something. “

More than 20 local people have already volunteered to get things going with the centre, but "plenty more" are still needed.

There will be a meeting on Wednesday, September 9 at 6pm at the library on Chepstow Road for people to find out more about how they can help.