BRADFORD’S Libraries Service has been awarded a £200,000 grant to adapt the District's facilities and make them "more flexible and usable."

The Council is among more than 60 galleries, museums, libraries and cultural venues to receive Government’s Cultural Investment Fund.

The grant of £200,000 is awarded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports, delivered by Arts Council England.

It will go towards a £250,000 project to make adaptations to Council owned library buildings to make them more flexible and usable for community and partner use for a wide range of information and advice sessions, activities and meetings to take place, including outside of normal library opening times.

The Council says it will build on the existing work going on in libraries to support people with their health and wellbeing, skills and employment and school readiness and is in line with the new vision and model for the libraries service for the future.

A spokesman said: "The project will increase footfall including people using libraries for the first time, ensure more community use of library building, provide more hours in which library buildings are available for use and an increased opportunity to develop our library creative, cultural, learning and family offers."

The core library offer will not be affected by these plans and it is hoped that in time the offer of books and activities will be expanded.

Support for plan to move Baildon Library - and meeting told residential use is 'likely' for former site

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council's Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “We are delighted with this news and this funding will really support our vision for our libraries in the future. "We are very proud of our library service and what we can offer our residents but we know that we have to do things differently in the future and work on unlocking the real potential our libraries have to improve the lives of our residents.

"We want our libraries to be at the heart of our communities for years to come and we know that our libraries will have to adapt to meet the needs of our residents and this funding will allow us to start working on adapting and improving our services and offers.”

Arts Minister Lord Parkinson, said: “Culture is the bedrock of society. It brings people together, entertains and informs us, and helps us to understand our common past and shared future.

“Today we are announcing a raft of new funding for treasured cultural institutions up and down the country.

“This will help them to continue their great work, advance our work to level up access to arts and culture so they can be enjoyed by people no matter where they live, and protect these cherished institutions for future generations to enjoy.”

Darren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England, said: “Our artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries are experts in making villages, towns and cities better places to live, work, visit or play. This investment means they’ll be able to help more people across England to lead happier, more creative lives.”

The Libraries Improvement Fund is helping transform library services in England by helping them upgrade their buildings and digital infrastructure so they can respond to the changing ways people use them.