Options open for Old Library development

Plans to re-develop the Old Library in Kirkwall are under review, as the property’s owner is keen to maintain “some level of public access.”

At a meeting on Wednesday, July 6, Orkney Islands Council’s planning committee granted permission for Neil Stevenson’s plans to turn the building into 14 flats.

Now, Mr Stevenson is going to progress with eight of the flats, while looking for an alternate use for the rest of the Old Library.

During the meeting, he explained to the committee that he had spent quite a bit of time investigating possibilities of finding a commercial use for the building. He said: “That would have been my first choice – for the historic part of the building at least.”

In a statement sent to The Orcadian, Mr Stevenson said: “Following the approval of the conversion of the Old Library to 14 flats at the recent planning meeting I am only progressing with 8 of the 14 in the short term.

“I will look again at trying to find a use for the Old Library building which would hopefully keep some level of public access to the building which we restored in 2017.

“If at the end of this process a suitable use can still not be found we would have the option to convert the building into the remaining 6 flats as per our approval.”