Park will be ‘protected’ in mansion revampplan
DEVELOPER VOWS ‘NOT A BLADE OF GRASS’ WILL BE LOST IN PROJECT TO REFURBISH DECAYING BUILDING
AN award-winning developer has vowed ‘not a blade of grass’ of a Grade II-listed park will be lost in plans to refurbish a crumbling mansion.
As revealed in the M.E.N., new homes, a hotel or workshops could be built in Buile Hill Park, Salford, to generate funds to restore the Georgian building, which is also Grade II-listed, to its former glory.
But Manchester-based developers Capital And Centric, which is spending £2m a week bringing old mills and warehouses in the region back to life, say any scheme in the park will be of the highest quality.
The company, which has created hotels and apartments in disused Victorian buildings and also has its own restaurants, has been asked by Salford council to get involved.
Tim Heatley, from Capital And Centric, said: “Unless it is going to be awesome, I can’t put my name to it.”
The mansion, which is steeped in history, has stood empty in the park for 18 years since it closed as the Lancashire Mining Museum.
Now Salford Red Devils Foundation – a registered charity with a remit to deliver sport, health and education-based activities across Salford and the region – wants to turn the mansion into a multiuse centre, including a museum showcasing the rugby league club’s history, function rooms, a cafe and a second museum in the basement recording the city’s mining past. Capital And Centric are helping the Foundation with an application for a £1.7m Heritage Lottery grant to restore the mansion. Land around the mansion would be developed.
Mr Heatley, who is from Eccles, said: “The benefit of developing that land and improving the facilities on the space next to the mansion is that we can create a rental income stream. We can create value which can then be used in Buile Hill Park.
“People could be working or living there. No matter what that use is there will be no gated community, the park has to remain open. Not one blade of grass will be touched.
“But the mansion cannot be left to rot in the ground and left to vandals.
“The reason Salford council approached us is because we have expertise and are inventive and creative. We are passionate about it. It is where I went as a kid.”
Possible uses for land next to the mansion include an elderley care facility, a hotel, homes, offices or studios for designers and artists.