The Riverside, Haverfordwest
Glan-yr-Afon (The Riverside) is an innovative new cultural centre in the heart of Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire
New facility attracts record number of visitors
This flagship facility is the result of an exciting partnership between Pembrokeshire County Council and the National Library of Wales and comprises a library, gallery, visitor information and coffee shop.
FG Library & Learning were instrumental in helping realise this ambitious project and the design team of Julian Glover and Jonathan Hawkins worked closely with the architects, project managers and library staff to achieve an impressive result.
The facility accommodates activities as diverse as reading, socialising and gaming. The children’s area incorporates a castle theme with features including an interactive StoryWall decorated with stunning artwork of fantastical scenes from renowned artist Jackie Morris.
Well over 4,000 users visited the library in the first two days of opening. Figures revealed that the facility attracted over 30,000 visitors in January 2019 (the first full month of operation) up by over 25,000 visitors on the January 2018 figure – a 520% increase. In the first six months since opening, visitor numbers topped 150,000 and the number of new library members also rocketed with 2,688 compared to just 255 in the same period twelve months previously.