Sutton Coldfield libraries busier, open longer and reading up 48% a year after town council rescue

A year after Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council stepped in to save three local libraries, more people are using them, opening hours are longer and hundreds more children are reading over the summer. The town council took over the library and community centre service at Mere Green, Walmley and Boldmere on 1 November 2025, and says all three sites have seen more visitors and more people coming to events and groups, the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce reports.

Longer hours and more young readers

Opening hours have been extended at all three sites, so that one of the town's libraries is now open every day from Monday to Saturday.

More than 800 children in Sutton Coldfield completed this year's free Summer Reading Challenge, up 48% on the year before. More than 250 people came to the opening celebrations across the three sites when the town council's service launched last November.

The council has also carried out repairs and improvements to the buildings, which its leader described as "long overdue".

"A very real risk"

Councillor Simon Ward, leader of Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council, said: "Over twelve months ago the Town Council, after consulting with residents, made the key decision to step in and secure the future of these much-loved community facilities. At the time there was a very real risk that residents could lose their local libraries and community centres."

"We believed strongly that these were assets worth protecting and that there was an opportunity to develop a service that is rooted in the needs of our Royal Town," he said. "One year on, I am delighted that the decision has proved such a success. The usage figures demonstrate that residents really value these facilities and have wholeheartedly embraced their role in Royal Sutton Coldfield."

He thanked staff, community organisations, groups and residents for their support, and added: "Please continue to do so and please let us know improvements you would like to see."

A different way of running local services

Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council is a parish-level council, set up in 2016, which sits beneath Birmingham City Council and raises its own precept from households in the town. Its decision to take on the libraries came as the city council, under severe financial pressure, reviewed which services it could continue to run itself.

The Sutton Coldfield model, in which a local council takes over a much-loved facility rather than see it close, is one that other communities have watched with interest. The first year's figures suggest that, at least here, it has worked: the buildings are open longer, the numbers are up and families are using them.

More than books

Libraries today do far more than lend books. They offer free computer and internet access, help with job applications and digital skills, warm and welcoming spaces in winter, groups for parents and toddlers, and activities for older people who might otherwise be isolated. The community centres at the three sites host clubs, classes and meetings throughout the week.

The Summer Reading Challenge, run nationally by The Reading Agency through public libraries, encourages children to read during the long school holiday, when reading skills can otherwise slip. A rise of almost half in the number completing it in Sutton Coldfield is one of the clearest signs of the service's first year.

Details of opening times and events are available from the town council.