City of Wolverhampton Council has joined forces with a local allotment association and community group to breathe new life into Goldthorn Assembly Hall. The Himley Crescent hall, which was built in the 1950s to serve the Goldthorn Park residents, has been vacant for four years. Himley Crescent Allotment Association has now secured a seven-year lease with the council and formed a management group with Wolverhampton Vocational Training Centre (WVTC) to put it back into use.

The council has re-roofed the building and put new flooring down, while WVTC students will be repainting throughout, fitting a new kitchen, and enhancing the horticultural facilities in and around the hall. Users of the nearby allotments, its associated members, and students will be able to use the building for recreation and meetings. Chair of the management group, Jon Norden, said: “We are most grateful to the council for committing time and resources into getting the hall back into use.

“It is a wonderful resource and much-needed facility for everyone associated with the allotments. “The work of the WVTC students is commendable, and we are looking forward too many years of association with them.”

Councillor Peter Bilson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Housing and Assets, said: “We are delighted this historic building is going to be put back into such good use for the local community.

“A lot of hard work has gone into making this happen by all parties and it will prove an invaluable asset to Himley Crescent Allotment Association and the students from Wolverhampton Vocational Training Centre.”