New chapter for Peterborough's Queensgate Shopping Centre as it opens its Honesty Library

A novel attraction has just opened at Peterborough’s Queensgate Shopping Centre.

The doors have been thrown open to an Honesty Library where shoppers or visitors can while away some spare time reading a range of novels and other works donated by members of the public.

People can either relax in the upcycled chairs made from old bathtubs that have been created and donated by recycling venture Up the Garden Bath, or if time is short, take a book home.

The Honesty Library is located on the Upper Mall, next to JD Sports and is open to everyone to use for free and centre managers say it will offer a quiet place on the mall for people to enjoy the pleasures of reading.

Queensgate has partnered with Disability Peterborough on this project and also invites people to make a donation to the charity, which can be done by scanning the QR code at the library.

A spokesperson for the centre said: “We hope the Honesty Library inspires people to pick up a book, take time out from their busy days and let their imaginations run wild.

"It’s easy to be consumed in our digital world but there’s nothing like reading a good novel and turning the page of a gripping thriller.”

The literature corner features dozens of books donated by local people that includes anything from a Jane Austen romance to a reality star’s biography.

There are also plenty of children’s books too that parents and guardians can read together and engage young people’s creative minds.

The centre recently announced it had partnered with Peterborough street artist Nathan Murdoch to create a new look for a main entrance to the mall.

The centre has commissioned Street Arts Hire, which is led by Nathan, to transform an area of wall of five areas of three metres by four metres at the West Mall.

The artwork will be called In Your Wildest Dreams and centre managers say it will create an area where shoppers ‘can take selfies, strike playful poses, and share your imaginative encounters online.’

News of the attractions comes shortly after bosses of retailer Marks and Spencer confirmed its store in the Queensgate would close on April 20.