New pictures show the £7 million restoration work taking place at a historic Salford landmark.
Buile Hill Mansion, set in the grounds of Buile Hill Park off Eccles Old Road, has been covered in scaffolding for months as work takes place to transform the former derelict building into a new wedding venue with a café and community space.
Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett vowed to bring the site back into use at the 2021 mayoral election, and plans for the renovation were approved by the town hall in September 2023.
Costs were initially expected to be around the £5-million mark, but the council agreed to increase funding in February, taking the total to £7.3 million.
The grade II-listed building has been closed for more than 20 years and was formerly used as the Lancashire Mining Museum, which closed in 2000.
Once restored, it will have a new café bar and function room, as well as a heritage and community meeting room, alongside offices for the city council’s registry staff.
Read More: Exploring Buile Hill Park: A Complete Visitor’s Guide
Improvements include new accessibility features such as disabled access ramps, along with a lift and an external enclosed staircase.
Currently, external works to the roof and façades are taking place, and stonework cleaning has been completed.
Internal work is continuing with soft demolition, structural works and the construction of a lift shaft, as well as windows being repaired and replaced.
In the next few months, roofing works and external façades are set to be completed, with mechanical and electrical work due to begin internally.
A Salford City Council reported stated that the building is set to be finished by December 20, with spring 2025 marked as the target date for wedding bookings to begin.
Mr Dennett told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:
“I’m delighted to see the work progressing at pace.
“I made a commitment to the city, our residents and communities to bring Buile Hill Mansion back into community use, and we can now see the exciting plans taking shape for this much-loved Grade II listed heritage asset.”
According to the Buile Hill Mansion Association, the building and park were used during both world wars for military purposes, being the site of an anti-aircraft gun and used as storage space for sandbags.
In 1940, the park suffered a direct hit from the German air force during the blitz. Buile Hill Mansion was constructed between 1825 and 1827.
