Groundbreaking: Works underway on the first Albert Gubay Foundation Centre at Peel Park for Community Little Hulton

The Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation (AGCF) is pleased to announce that work is underway at the first Albert Gubay Foundation Centre, in union with Community Little Hulton and Salford City Council. The new £1million building will be a flagship Albert Gubay Foundation Centre, and will provide a permanent community facility at Peel Park in Little Hulton.

The Albert Gubay Foundation Centre will provide Community Little Hulton and their many partners with space to deliver a wide range of valuable community projects and initiatives of great importance to the local area. The works also represent a significant redevelopment to the existing Peel Park Pavilion and will play an important part in the wider revitalization of the park. The Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation will hold a 125-year lease on the property and will facilitate Community Little Hulton’s use of the space as they expand upon their existing community outreach programmes.

The pavilion is in the ideal location for Community Little Hulton and their work: among Peel Park’s wide range of recreational facilities, a short distance from their existing offices and the Little Hulton Precinct, situated near a local library and health centre. Providing the opportunity to remain at Peel Park, the new development will ensure that Community Little Hulton are able to continue their valuable work in the local area.

The use of WikiHouse construction has allowed the local community to become invested in the construction process, offering the opportunity for those individuals who will be using the centre to have a personal connection to the new building. Two months into the project and the Wiki-build is well underway and has been hailed by local schools and community workers as an incredible success in encouraging community involvement. Local school children have participated in fabricating sections of the new building, encouraging them to contribute directly to the project’s success and giving them a hands-on, educational experience of the construction process. Directly including the community in the construction stage ensures that the flagship Albert Gubay Foundation Centre will be a valued and respected part of the Peel Park landscape.

In reconfiguring the building the development will more than double the original floor space, creating a flexible and modern facility for the long-term delivery of a wide range of community uses. As a core aspect of the new development, the centre’s café will provide users with a pleasant space overlooking the park and encouraging wide community engagement with the facilities.

Committed to both ecological and social value, the development is not restricted to the existing pavilion but will also include improvements to the surrounding park area. New paths will be laid leading from the street toward the centre, and a patio and outdoor seating area will create a link between the centre and the park. Careful attention has been given to the natural surroundings of the site, prioritising the preservation of mature trees – in particular a large Lime tree on the park side. There will be other planting undertaken.

Construction Solutions Ltd. started on site in April 2024 and are on program to hand over the building to Community Little Hulton at the end of October, ready for a grand re-opening in early November.

Alison Jones, Developments Manager for Community Little Hulton, praised the significant support received from AGCF in developing the new centre. “Community Little Hulton is an organisation led by Little Hulton residents for Little Hulton residents. Together we had a dream and the support from The Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation is making that dream a reality.”