Breck Road Library in Liverpool was closed because of unpaid rent, according to the council.
Breck Road Library Closure: What is happening?
Liverpool City Council has taken back control of the Breck Road Library building from Alt Valley Community Trust after citing unpaid rent of more than £80,000, a move the Trust says has left staff, volunteers, and residents in shock and resulted in closure of the library.
Breck Road Library in Everton closed its doors in early October 2025 following a dispute between Liverpool City Council and Alt Valley Community Trust (AVCT), which had operated the library for almost a decade.
The closure has raised questions about funding arrangements, communication between the council and AVCT, and the impact on staff, volunteers, and residents who used the library’s services.
Timeline of events
AVCT tell us they received a special delivery letter from Liverpool City Council in April 2025, which included a demand for rent contributions for Breck Road Library going back several years (email communication with AVCT)
A further letter was hand-delivered on 1 October 2025, stating that the council was taking immediate possession of the building. AVCT’s Chief Executive, Phil Knibb, received the letter the following morning.
In spite of community protests, including a petition to keep the library open, Liverpool Council had made the decision to close the library.
Liverpool City Council confirmed that Breck Road Library was closed on 2 October 2025. In its public statement (now removed from the Council website), the council said:
“Breck Road Library has been closed after Alt Valley Community Trust failed to make the necessary payments under the terms of its lease. The council has taken possession of the building to safeguard the asset and ensure that public funds are used appropriately.”
The library’s finances
Alt Valley Community Trust stated that it received £55,000 per year from Liverpool City Council to operate Breck Road Library, compared with approximately £72,000 for similar facilities such as Fazakerley Library.
Danielle Forman, Deputy Chief Executive of AVCT, told us the organisation had used its own funds to sustain operations.
“We have provided the council with calculations of how much we have saved by running the library for £55,000 per year, but they do not recognise this as a saving.”
Liverpool City Council said in its statement that it had made “significant efforts” to resolve the issue and that all community partners were expected to meet agreed financial commitments.
When AVCT first took over Breck Road Library, it signed an agreement to contribute £10,000 per year in rent. The Trust said it did not sign subsequent lease renewals due to the ongoing costs of running the service and staffing requirements at the site.
The impact closure will have
Before its closure, Breck Road Library hosted a range of activities including digital access and printing, children’s play sessions, older people’s social groups, debt advice, and partnership sessions with organisations such as Smoke Free Liverpool and Households into Work.
AVCT said the library also provided day-to-day welfare support for vulnerable residents. “Staff would do shopping for vulnerable members and make sure they were ok,” Forman told us.
The organisation said five staff members worked on rotation across its libraries, and that volunteers played a key role in daily operations. AVCT described the closure as “devastating” for staff and the local community, noting that residents continued to arrive to use the library after the closure had been enforced.
A petition to keep Breck Road and Dovecot Mac libraries open received more than 4,000 signatures online and on paper.
Governance and communications
AVCT said that meetings with Liverpool City Council were limited and that communications were mainly conducted through legal and debt recovery officers. The organisation said it had written multiple times to the Council Leader, Liam Robinson, and Chief Executive, Andrew Lewis, and that both MPs Ian Byrne and Kim Johnson had supported engagement efforts.
The council stated that the decision to take possession of Breck Road Library was made “after long-standing arrears were not resolved” and that the action was “necessary to ensure accountability for public resources.”
AVCT stated that legal costs to contest the action were beyond its means and that the Trust did not have access to equivalent legal support to that of the council.
Future of library provision
AVCT confirmed that Liverpool City Council ceased funding for both Breck Road and Dovecot Mac libraries at the end of June 2025. The Trust had a public meeting0n 17 October 2025 to discuss potential models of community ownership, partnership, or mediation to retain some form of library service in the area, but the library remains closed.
Liverpool City Council said it is “reviewing library provision across the city” and that there are “three other libraries within two miles” of the Breck Road site, as well as a home lending and digital service for residents who cannot visit a branch in person.
People feel they are being forgotten
AVCT said that for many Everton residents, physical access to library space is essential. Forman:
The loss of the physical presence [of a library] within the Everton area will be devastating for the community. People told us they felt everything was shutting down and that they were being forgotten.
