Aston Hall will be closed until summer 2009. The Hall and grounds are undergoing a £10 million make-over.

Aston Hall is a 400 year old Grade I listed building set in 52 acres of historic parkland. It still stands proudly next to Aston Villa FC despite many wars and weathering. The largest and oldest of the five community museums owned by Birmingham City Council, it has a great deal of demands placed upon it each day, and will shortly be benefiting from a £10m makeover.

The Aston Hall & Park Development project will not only ensure the conservation of this superb historic site,, but just as importantly will create new facilities that will benefit everyone. The development works include:

The Stables Range & Courtyard
New reception and orientation area for whole site
Relocated and improved café and shop
New outdoor event and picnic area
New interactive exhibition galleries and activity room
Park Ranger Base
Upgraded security
Archaeological excavation and display of the remains of the original North Range and Icehouse

The Hall
Improved decoration and displays throughout the Hall
Improved access and interpretation for disabled visitors
New temporary exhibition space designated for community exhibitions
Upgraded heating and lighting throughout Hall

The Park
New signage and benches around the Park
New landscaping and planting
Refurbishment of the historic gardens
Creation of a new Community Garden
New street lighting along the main pathway through the Park
Creation of a secure perimeter around the Park to prevent illegal vehicle access
Upgraded CCTV throughout the Park

Sports & Recreation in the Park
New Sports Pavilion containing changing rooms, kitchen and a community activity space
Refurbish existing cricket pitch
Three new grass football pitches (adult, junior and little league)
New floodlit artificial pitch for football and hockey
New children’s play area adjacent to Upper Sutton Street

The main sources of funding for the project are Birmingham City Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Aston Pride New Deal for Communities, Barclays ‘Spaces for Sport’ , the DCMS/ Wolfson Museums Development Fun and ‘Renaissance in the Regions’ - and as the profile of this project steadily rises, so the list of contributors grows.

Timescale
The first piece of work will be the construction of the artificial pitch which is due to start on October 2006. A further £800,000 will be spent on other works before April 2007.

The works on the Stable Range, the Sports Pavilion, grass pitches and Gardens are expected to start in April 2007 with a completion date of summer 2009.

Aston Hall will be closed for at least the 2008 season whilst these works are undertaken. However, there will be a number of public open days throughout the closed period so visitors can come and see how the project is progressing.

Community Involvement
There have been posts created at the Hall and Park to encourage community involvement and give a sense of ‘ownership’ to the local people. These include a Sports Development Officer, a Lifelong Learning Officer and a Park Ranger to name a few.

There are still some details of the project that are still up for consultation. The Aston Hall & Park Steering Committee has recently been set up to discuss these issues, which are actioned and fed back into the developmental plans. The Steering Committee will ensure that the public will be involved in decision-making throughout the life of the project and beyond.

We hope to see more people taking advantage of this unique resource following our grand re-launch in 2009!