A NEW village library is to open next month - 52 years after it closed.

Goathland library will be based in the new Community Hub and was one of the key drivers behind the overall development of the site.

The original village library, which was in the Reading Room, closed in 1966, with the advent of mobile libraries, but that service also disappeared in 2011.

Keith Thompson, chairman of the Hub, which was completed in January following four years of fundraising and 18 months of construction, said support had been provided by North Yorkshire County Council’s library service.

He said: “Effectively, 52 years on we have come full circle. We have a volunteer group of 10 to run it and of course it’s open to anyone in North Yorkshire.

“Hopefully, it will become more than just a library for those who use it. Visitors can have a coffee, sit in the sun outside and socialise.

“We are also planning to hold film shows using material from the British Film Archives, as well as putting on talks on various subjects at the Hub.”

The official opening takes place at 2pm on Wednesday, December 12.