Plans for housing on the site of the Adelphi Lads Club revealed last year have now been submitted for approval, meaning that the historic youth club is a step closer to demolition. Reform Developments, which bought the site of the club on Cannon Street in Salford in 2021, now intends to build 19, three-bedroom townhouses on the plot.
Reform Developments bought the club and its grounds at auction in 2021 for £1m, with initial plans being for a 32-apartment complex over five floors. These plans have now been revised in favour of the townhouses.
A bar and restaurant, with a huge beer garden, was set up as a placeholder on the site of the Lads Club last summer. It will continue to operate as a bar for the time being, though it's currently being used only for private events.
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Callum Broome, who is behind the pop-up project, told the Manchester Evening News: “Adelphi Lads Club, the venue, was always planned as a ‘meanwhile’ space designed to give Salford residents one last chance to enjoy the iconic building.
“We have worked hard to provide a community space, interesting food and some great parties to this historic place in the heart of Salford. The mayor even joined us for a street clean with people from across the neighbourhood.
“The planning application was submitted a while ago and is moving forward. The venue is closed for private events at the moment but we will be announcing our winter programme very soon. It’ll be packed with World Cup events, live music, Christmas festivities and some more parties!”
The lad’s club was set up in the late 1800s by local 23-year-old teacher Walter Southern as a means of keeping young people off the streets of Salford. At the time of its opening, it offered all kinds of healthy, invigorating activities for young lads, including clog repair, singing and painting, as well as sports.
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After first setting up on Pine Street in Salford, it moved to the current Cannon Street site in the 1920s, where it boasted extensive facilities, including sports courts and a theatre auditorium. It endured, offering young people a place to play and learn until 2008, when it closed its doors for the last time.
The disused building fell into disrepair, and was later squatted in. A fire then raged through it in 2010, causing serious damage and the loss of more than a hundred years of documents and memorabilia. Plans for the site to be turned into residences have been in place since 2019.
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