A town's library will be making a temporary move into a former day centre as part of an £83m project to make 200 council buildings more energy efficient.

Norfolk County Council officers have approved County Hall's application to move Diss Library from its current Church Street home while revamp work is done.

Diss Library will be moving on a short-term basisDiss Library will be moving on a short-term basis (Image: Antony Kelly)

Officers agreed that the library can move into part of the Denny Centre, in Thomas Manning Road, on a 12-month basis when work to retrofit the present library gets under way.

Officers said: "Significant weight is given in the planning balance to the public benefits of the proposal, providing a temporary library whilst the existing library undergoes refurbishment works.

"Due to the proposed development not altering the external appearance of the building, it is unlikely that there will any adverse impacts to design, the character or appearance of the nearby Conservation Area, highway safety and amenity to the residential properties surrounding the site."

The library will move to the Denny CentreThe library will move to the Denny Centre (Image: Angela Sharpe)

The move is part of the county council's major retrofitting project.

The retrofitting project will see council-owned buildings, including libraries, fitted with heat pumps to replace gas and oil boilers. Solar panels and better insulation will also be installed.

Libraries across Norfolk will be retrofitted to make them more energy efficientLibraries across Norfolk will be retrofitted to make them more energy efficient (Image: Paul Hewitt)

Officers at Conservative-controlled County Hall said the retrofitting scheme is needed to hit its target to reach 'net zero' status on its estate by the end of the decade.

The council recently agreed a similar move for the library in Gorleston, which will temporarily move into a former hair salon.

The multi-million-pound retrofitting scheme comes at a time when the council is making millions of pounds of cuts and savings.

It needs to save £45m to balance the books in next year's budget, which includes proposals to cut money from adult social care and children's services.

The authority is also proposing switching off thousands more street lights and cutting £2m from housing-related support services for vulnerable people.