An estimated 38 percent of Salford children never have a holiday
17:57, 06 Sep 2025Updated 17:58, 06 Sep 2025
Smiling faces – children visiting “Salford by the Sea” at Prestatyn in the 1960s.
For almost 100 years it has been a haven for Salford kids resigned to spending their summers on the streets. Thousands of children from the city have tasted sea air and played on a beach thanks to its existence.
Known affectionately as Salford’s “Jam Butty” holiday camp the centre in Prestatyn, North Wales, opened in 1926, and has survived, often against the odds.
Eleven years ago it was saved after an 11th hour U-turn by the council. Recently its future was put on a more secure footing after an astonishing gift left in the will of an elderly lady.
But an urgent appeal has been launched to raise £100,000 to kickstart the replacement of an aging dormitory with modern accommodation. The camp is appealing to the city’s business community – contractors, consultants, subcontractors, and companies large and small—to help fund a once-in-a-generation rebuild.
The camp has done well to continue after being on the brink of closure in 2014. In April that year the management decided it was no longer viable after just seven out of 80 primary schools in the city said they would use it next year.
Salford’s Jam Butty Camp, 1982.
The camp was run by an independent committee, but a £50,000 annual grant it received from Salford council was axed as town hall bosses faced making cuts of £25m.The site was considered to be a prime location, near to the sea, worth millions of pounds.
The council announced it would be sold and the proceeds put in a fund to be invested for the benefit of primary school children in the city. But after a high-profile campaign led by businessman, Nick Abbot, highlighted by the MEN, that decision was reversed. However the camp is now run independent of the council with no town hall funding.
Nick, a partner at Manchester-based Chartered Quantity Surveyors Simon Fenton Partnership, was awarded an MBE for services to Young People and Social Inclusion in Salford in The Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2021.
Smiling faces – children visiting “Salford by the Sea” in Prestatyn in the 1960s.
Nick was honoured for contribution as Chair of local charities, Salford Foundation Trust and the Salford Children’s Holiday Camp.
As a young lad from Ordsall, Salford, Nick stayed in the old dormitory that needs replacing. He said: “The block was installed in 1979 as a “temporary” building, but it has finally reached the end of its life. I actually stayed in it that year as a young lad.
“We need urgent support to replace it to ensure the next generation of Salford children and families can continue to enjoy time by the sea. We are planning to replace the block with modern, family-friendly lodges. The first of these is due to open in 2026, but we need to raise £100,000 to make that possible.”
Nick Abbott, who campaigned to save “Salford by the Sea”. Picture by Chris Gleave(Image: Men)
He added: “When the council decided not to shut it and we took it over they gave us four bags of keys and said ‘right you have found us out, it’s yours now’. When we took it over we had £35,000 in the bank and about £40,000 worth of debt.
“Whilst we are desperate to replace the accommodation block, during the last ten years we have stabilised the charity and have £225,000 in the bank, because the camp has been running sustainably. We have had regular donations and fundraising events.
“We also had a stroke of good fortune. A dear lady who passed away left £100,000 in her will to the camp as well. We got a letter from a solicitor to say that she had died at a care home in Prestatyn, She had bequeathed the contents of a shed to a life-long friend, a lawn mower to someone else and five grand to a niece and nephew.
“Her will said anything else that was left could go to ten charities. I got the letter and thought what a lovely lady, it will probably be a few hundred quid. It turns out she had about £1m left. Each of the charities got about £100,000. It made such a big difference to what we do.”
Setting off to the Jam Butty Camp in the 70s.
A grant from the Cotton Industry War Memorial Trust of £80,000 enabled the purchase of new play equipment for the camp.
Nick said: “We get between 700 and 800 visitors per year. We get smaller groups for shorter visits, but more of them. July and August can be quiet and that is why we want to provide family lodges, where children and teachers in smaller groups from schools can also stay, as well as families.
“The fact is 38 percent of children in Salford will never have a holiday and 25 percent don’t get a day out unless it is with a school. Some of the schools prefer children to have an experience at activity facilities but it can cost hundreds of pounds a week. The schools who use is do pay but we want to be able to provide children who can’t pay a free holiday.
Salford’s Jam Butty Camp, 2012.
“Our two dormitories currently provide accommodation for 60 – 36 in one block and 24 in the other. Our core group at the moment is between 30 and 40.” The ultimate aim is to replace both dormitories with eight small lodges. But £100,000 is needed for the first one.
“Nick said: “This is about more than bricks and mortar. For nearly a century, the camp has given Salford children, families, and young carers a break they might otherwise never experience. We urgently need local companies to rally round and help us transform ‘Salford by the Sea’ for the future.”
The camp was originally set up in 1926 as the Poor Children’s Camp – that sign was removed decades ago.
A key fundraiser will be a Halloween Ball at The Lowry Hotel on Friday October 31st. The evening will be compered Salford DJ, radio presenter, Mike Sweeney and feature a very special performance by Peter Hook of Joy Division and New Order, with full supporting entertainment.
Table sponsorships are £2000 for a table of 12 including a three-course dinner, wine, and themed Halloween surprises. Individual tickets are £175 each. Companies can share table sponsorships or purchase multiple tables. Corporate sponsorship packages are also available.
“This is a chance not just to enjoy one of the biggest nights on Salford’s social calendar,” added Nick Abbott, “but to make a lasting difference to thousands of children across Greater Manchester.”
Nick Abbot, Darren Clemens, and Billy Fairbrother at the Salford Jam Butty Camp in 1978.
The donation of auction and raffle prizes for the ball is also welcome; and designers, suppliers, and contractors are invited to contribute skills or services to the rebuild project.
The camp also welcomes training days, team-building visits, and apprentice programmes at its Prestatyn site. Individuals and organisations can donate directly via JustGiving.
Nick said: “The Salford Children’s Holiday Camp narrowly avoided closure in 2014 after a public appeal led by the Manchester Evening News. Thanks to overwhelming community and media support, the camp was saved—and now, over 10 years later, the call is just as urgent.
“We need Salford’s business community to stand with us once again. Together, we can give children the seaside holidays they deserve for the next 100 years.”