Newbury Old Library reimagined as new creative hub

A vibrant new space for arts, classes, performances and community connection has now opened its doors in Newbury.

After nearly a decade in the making, Newbury Old Library has officially reopened its doors, transformed into a vibrant, flexible arts hub in the heart of the town.

The newly opened Old Library Café Bar, launched on Monday 23 March 2026, is now welcoming visitors on weekdays, offering a relaxed space to enjoy a coffee or bite to eat while taking in the character of the redeveloped building.

Alongside this, courses and classes began across the upstairs and downstairs spaces from Monday 20 April, with a programme of intimate performances in the studio theatre set to follow as part of the autumn season.

Delivered by Corn Exchange Newbury, the project has been years in the planning. Initial development work began in late 2022, followed by extensive consultation and design stages, before construction commenced in early 2025.

The building has since been carefully taken back to its bare structure and reimagined as a modern, multi-purpose venue designed to serve a wide range of community and creative needs.

More than half of the funding for the redevelopment was secured through trusts, foundations and public donations, with the generosity of supporters playing a vital role in bringing the vision to life.

The finished space now includes two flexible activity and performance areas, a studio theatre with seating for up to 94 people, and a welcoming café bar at its centre.

The project aims to create a space that feels calm, friendly, adaptable and inspiring – a place where people of all ages can feel at home and return to time and again. That ethos builds on a strong foundation of community engagement developed over the past 15 years.

In the past year alone, more than 30,000 community engagements have taken place through a range of inclusive and accessible initiatives.

These include ‘Touch to See’, an arts programme supporting people with visual impairments; ‘Contactless Creativity’, which connected participants during the pandemic through delivered activity packs and radio broadcasts; and ‘Becoming Us’, designed to support new parents and their babies as they reconnect socially and reach early developmental milestones.

The organisation’s Youth Theatre has also grown significantly, now engaging over 140 members and providing opportunities for young people to build confidence, develop skills and form lasting friendships.

The Old Library is now fully open, and provides a central base from which this work can continue to grow.

Share