Campaigners in Kensal Rise have launched a new fundraising drive to raise £80,000 to furnish their new community library.

Friends of Kensal Rise Library (FOKRL) have already hit their £80,000 target of their first phase of fundraising which allows them to turn a community space into a volunteer-run reading room.

However they now need to raise the extra cash so they can buy equipment and furniture for the library in Bathurst Gardens.

Residents formed (FOKRL) in 2011 after Brent Council revealed it was closing Kensal Rise Library and five other branches in the borough to save £1million-a-year.

After the branch was axed and the site was placed on the market FOKRL launched a successful battle to be given an allocated space in the building so they could open a community-run library.

Uplift Property Ltd, the developers, who bought the building, will hand the keys for the community space to FOKLR on October 21.

Margaret Bailey, chairwoman of FOKRL, said: “We are daring to hope that we can be successful with the final stage.

“£160,000 in total is a lot to ask for the refurbishment of the shell we will inherit.

“We know we are asking a lot of everyone in the community, but if we all pull together we will achieve what we set out to do nearly six years ago, having a library at the heart of our community.”

To make a donation visit savekensalriselibrary.org and click on the Mydonate button.