Plans for the major £50m refurbishment of Liverpool's Central Library - one of the UK's largest library developments, have been given the go-ahead by planners at Liverpool City Council (LCC).

A temporary library will be established in Liverpool city centre while the two-and-a-half year scheme is carried out by Inspire Partnership, a joint venture including York-based Shepherd Construction and London-based Amber Infrastructure. LCC's planning committee has also awarded listed building consent for the plans, which include the restoration of the Central Library's 150-year-old, Grade II-listed parts - such as the facade and the Picton, Hornby and Oak Reading Rooms.

Five new floors boasting meeting rooms, a café and toilets will be created, the International Library reopened as a children's zone and a new repository with space for 20 years' worth of new archive space form part of the project. A new rooftop atrium and terrace overlooking St John's Gardens and a new home for the Liverpool Record Office will also be created as part of the proposals, which will see the building close in June 2010 in preparation for the start of work.