A major update has revealed a surprising new plan for a historic Stockport library that's been shut for more than a year.

Stockport Central Library has been closed since May 2025 after maintenance works and repairs had to be carried out in the building. It has remained shut ever since despite petitions and calls for it to reopen.

Library services in Stockport town centre have since been operating out of the massively popular Stockroom in the Merseyway Shopping Centre. This has had more than one million visitors in a year.

However the library's likely future has been revealed after Reform councillor Shaun Regan put in a Freedom of Information request to the local authority. He said he had 'been pressing the council for clear answers' in a Facebook post because the public 'deserve to know what is happening to one of our most important public buildings'.

He said the request revealed the council plans to renovate the Grade II-listed library as the new home of the Stockport Music Service which is currently based in Bedbury. The service works with schools, families and wider partners to provide opportunities in all areas of music education across the borough.

Coun Regan said: "I welcome the news that Central Library will be brought back into public use. Moving the Music Service into the town centre could give young musicians a fantastic new home while protecting an important part of Stockport's heritage.

"However, I will continue pushing for the details. Residents need a clear timeline, the expected cost, an opening date and confirmation of how much public access will remain.

"We also need to know what will happen to the existing Bredbury site. Will it remain part of the service, be repurposed for another community use, be sold or left empty?

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"The council must communicate better and be more transparent about its public buildings. Residents should not have to rely on Freedom of Information requests to discover whether valued community assets will be protected, converted or left to deteriorate."

In response, a Stockport Council spokesperson said: "Central Library is expected to become the future home of Stockport Music Service. We look forward to sharing more information with residents as plans progress."

It's understood the move has been delayed due to the need to carefully relocate Stockport's archive collections into a purpose-built facility in Stockroom. This is because the archives require specialist handling and have to be moved with the utmost care to protect historical records about Stockport.

Previously the Liberal Democrats who run the council said the central Library 'will remain open, publicly-owned and run as a library service' after they took control of the council. The promise was that after Stockroom was finished, the central library would be refurbished and retain a library of 2,500 books.

Previous costs for the project was touted as being in the region of £4.3m with £2.1m being spent on repairs to the building. In June 2026, Labour MP Navendu Mishra pressed for an update on what was happening with the library.

He previously said: "A clear timeline for the building's reopening is urgently needed. I recall when Labour ran Stockport council, the Stockport Liberal Democrats were openly critical of the council when plans were floated around Stockport Central Library."