Wait is nearly over for Yate's new library and health centre

Two major projects for Yate are set to be completed in the next few months to provide the town with a new health centre and upgraded library.

If all goes to schedule, the refurbished library should be open for business in October, followed a few weeks later by the health complex.

A grant of £1.5 million from the Big Lottery Fund allowed South Gloucestershire Council to extend and redesign the interior of the library, which it hopes will become a hub of the community.

An extension will provide space for community learning and an exhibition area for local organisations to use and promote their work. There will also be community office space which can be used by various groups.

Users will find the inside of the building completely redecorated, with new features such as a self-service system to minimise queuing times and plasma screens giving information on the area and events taking place.

Cheryl Kirby, chairwoman of the library committee, said: "The new library is something we have been campaigning for and we were delighted that the Big Lottery Fund awarded the grant to the council.

"The project will not only increase the capacity of the building but also develop the ways in which the library service engages with the local community to make the library a key part of Yate."

Heather Goddard, the council's executive member for communities, said: "Since the library was built in 1971, there has been a transformation in public library services, which now provide many more facilities and various activities.

"This scheme will form part of our major investment plans for libraries over the next few years, which will see major improvements across South Gloucestershire."

Yate is in the process of getting a number of new facilities. It has recently seen its leisure centre upgraded, new South Gloucestershire Council offices are being built there and the authority has pledged to provide, with Yate Town Council, a long-awaited youth cafe.

The £12.5m community health centre is due to be finished in November and will provide outpatient appointments to save patients having to travel to hospital.

There will also be a minor injuries service, with patients able to have X-rays and other diagnostic tests. An integrated children's centre, funded by South Gloucestershire Council, will be in the complex to provide young people and their families with advice, information and support.

The new building will replace the existing health centre and West Walk GP practice and will also provide space for services currently available at the Chipping Sodbury clinic.