A NEAR-£1 million refurbishment of Wellington’s public library has been pushed back by three months.

Work on the dilapidated library building, in Fore Street, was due to have started next February with the new library reopened early in 2024.

Now, the county library service has announced the project will not begin until the spring, meaning the re-opening is unlikely to happen before mid-2024.

Ahead of the work, the library facility will be temporarily relocated to the former Wellington Over-60s Club, in North Street, opposite the town’s fire station.

The town centre premises will shut at the end of January and the temporary facility should be open by early March.

Originally, the plan was to close the library last month and open the relocated service before Christmas.

The extensive library rebuild was approved after Somerset County Council exhausted all efforts to find suitable new premises for it.

All three floors of the building will be remodelled and upgraded to give it at least a 20-year lifespan and provide space from which other public services can operate.

A county council planning application for the scheme has still to be determined by Somerset West and Taunton Council. A county council spokesman said the project was ‘progressing’ and work on-site was expected to begin in March/April.