Work is well under way to create the new Ashmore Park Community Hub.
And residents and community leaders were able to see progress for themselves when they took a tour of the site.
The hub is the first of number of developments across the city which will bring information and library services and youth and community facilities under one roof.
By doing so, Wolverhampton City Council hopes to protect these important services in the face of Government cuts.
At Ashmore Park, a 134m2 glass and steel extension is being built to house a library and link together the existing youth club and sports hall buildings – both of which are being refurbished to create flexible facilities that can be used by the whole community.
Both Ashmore Park Library and Ashmore Park Community Centre, which are on the same road, will relocate to the new facility, which will open for the first time in May 2014.
The new hub will also feature a new community gym including showers and changing facilities, six multi-purpose meeting rooms, a lounge and kitchen and IT facilities, as well as additional parking.
Contractors AM Griffiths have been on site for three weeks, and are busy stripping out some of the internal fittings before the main construction work gets underway.
Local residents and community organisations played an instrumental part in the Community Design Group which shaped the proposals.
Design Group member and WV11.co.uk co-founder James Clarke said: “The members of the community-led design group have worked really hard guiding the design process for the hub and we are looking forward to seeing this much needed facility opening on our estate in 2014.”
Councillor Elias Mattu, Wolverhampton City Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure and Communities, said: “We’re pleased that we’re now starting to see the new Ashmore Park Community Hub taking shape. This is an exciting point in the development of the hub, which I am confident will become a popular and well-used facility for the people of Ashmore Park.”
He added: “This is one of the first in a network of hubs which we are developing across the city as we try to protect important services in the face of swingeing Government cuts.
“By bringing them together under one roof, we hope to make them both more cost-effective and also more easily accessible to customers.
“The new Ashmore Park hub will offer more space and flexibility for community activities than is available at the current community centre, and there will be opportunities for social events and private parties which can’t presently be accommodated there.”
Ashmore Park Library and Ashmore Park Community Centre will continue to operate as usual while construction work takes place, but to enable the improvements to be carried out to the youth club and sports hall some services are being altered during this time.
As a result, Tuesday and Thursday youth club sessions have been temporarily relocated to Ashmore Park Community Centre, while the regular sessions for young people from St Albans, Corpus Christi and Coppice schools are being provided at St Albans Church Hall every Monday and Friday. Youth workers are also offering a variety of outreach sessions around the local area.