A series of bespoke centres, offering information and library services as well as youth and community facilities from the same location, are being established around the city over the coming months.
At Ashmore Park, a 134 metre square glass and steel extension will be built to house a library and link together the existing youth club and sports hall buildings - both of which will be fully refurbished to create flexible facilities open to the whole community.
The new hub, which will open for the first time next year, will also feature a new community gym including showers and changing facilities, 6 multi purpose meeting rooms, a lounge and kitchen and IT facilities. More parking will also be created.
As part of the development, both Ashmore Park Library and Ashmore Park Community Centre, which are on the same road, will relocate to the new facility.
Contractors AM Griffiths are starting work on site this week, and will initially be securing the site and stripping out some of the internal fittings before the main construction work gets underway.
Councillor Elias Mattu, Wolverhampton City Council's Cabinet Member for Leisure and Communities, said: "I am very pleased that building work is now beginning on the first of our new community hubs.
"We've had a great deal of support from the local community who have helped us shape these proposals for Ashmore Park, and I know they will share my delight that we have reached this important milestone."
He added: "Community hubs like the one at Ashmore Park are being developed so that we can protect Wolverhampton's library, community and youth services in the face of swingeing Government cuts.
"Many other councils are facing up to the reality that they can no longer afford to have as many libraries or community or youth centres as they used to, and so are having to close them.
"We wanted to avoid this, and by bringing together popular and well used services like these we've been able to ensure we can continue providing them.
"We've already seen from the development of Blakenhall Community and Healthy Living Centre that bringing together a wide range of services can really work and create a facility that is well used by the whole community - and we're confident that we can repeat this success across the city.
"And it's not just about protecting services - but also expanding them. 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 on the Ashmore Park hub takes place, but to enable the improvements to be carried out to the youth club and sports hall some services will be altered during this time.
As a result, Tuesday and Thursday youth club sessions will be temporarily relocated to Ashmore Park Community Centre, while the regular sessions for young people from St Albans, Corpus Christi and Coppice schools will be provided at St Albans Church Hall every Monday and Friday. Youth workers will offer a variety of outreach sessions around the local area while there will also be an outdoor football session every Wednesday.
Councillor Mattu said: "We've taken steps to keep disruption to a minimum but I'd like to ask people to bear with us while the work takes place."
The hub is one of a number of facilities being developed in the first phase of the community hubs programme.
- released: Wednesday 4 September, 2013