Tonight, at 7:30pm in the Height Methodist Church, there's to be a public meeting of residents, called to oppose the building of houses in Buile Hill Park and to look at community alternatives to restore the Grade 2 listed Mansion for community use.
A housing development in the old depot area of the park was on the table as part of a Memorandum of Understanding between developers Capital and Centric and Salford Red Devils Foundation.
However, in the hours before the meeting, Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett, has issued a statement confirming that housing is now off the table in any deal...
"I want to make it clear that a private housing development will not be built in the former depot area at Buile Hill Park" he said "There were never any solid proposals on the table to build homes on the park, despite open-ended speculation. Residents also made it clear they did not want a private housing development in the park.
"Salford City Council remains committed to bringing the mansion back to life and our aim is to work with partners, organisations and the community to find a long-term sustainable future for the building" he added "The aim is to turn the mansion house into something that would benefit the community and be an asset for the city.
"I would also like to extend the invitation out to the community for viable ideas on bringing the mansion back to use" he explained "I want to stress that the mansion is costing residents of the city £80,000 a year in maintenance and security fees so a sustainable, long-term use with public benefits is in the bests interests of the whole city. There have been loads of great ideas on how the building could be used but connecting to adequate ongoing funding is challenging.
"Any detailed proposals for the long-term future mansion and development of the former depot site will not be agreed behind closed doors and will be available for the public and the local community to view and comment on. Community engagement and involvement will be critical to the success of bringing the mansion house back to life" he concluded.
The Mayor did not mention whether the Memorandum of Understanding is still in place.
The meeting is still going ahead tonight...
Buile Hill Park Public Meeting
Tuesday 12th June 7:30pm
Height Methodist Community Church
King Street, M6 7GY
Update: 13th June:
After huge community victory that saw Salford Mayor u-turn on building houses in Buile Hill Park, public meeting looks to a positive future for the Grade 2 listed Mansion - click here
For a full background see previous Salford Star article – click here
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
(3).jpeg)
.png)
(1).JPG)
