Extra funding boost for Buile Hill Mansion as restoration work to hit £7 million

The cost of restoring a Georgian mansion in Salford is set to hit £7 million after a funding boost was agreed by the council today.

Work on Buile Hill Mansion, based in Buile Hill Park, started in October 2021, and the building is due to reopen this year as a new home for the council's registry staff.

The project was initially expected to cost around £5.5m, but a £1m boost approved today by councillor Jack Youd, lead member for finance at Salford council will see the total cost rise to £7.3m.

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The extra cash will come from different council services which have had money freed up, or had changes to finance models, according to a report.

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.

Since then, it's been boarded up but Salford Mayor Paul Dennett made a promise to give the building a new lease of life when re-elected in 2021.

It may be covered in scaffolding now, but once complete the restored building will have a new café bar and function room, as well as a heritage and community meeting room alongside offices for council staff.

Before the council started work on the building it had been left in a "state of dereliction" after years of decline.

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 airforce during the blitz.

The building was constructed between 1825 and 1827.