Salford Youth Zone is getting ready to open its doors
Salford Youth Zone will be open seven days a week, bosses say.
Bosses behind a new youth zone in Salford say it could change the lives of thousands of young people in the city.
The £13m Salford Youth Zone project is located on Belvedere Road in Pendleton.
It aims to create a safe and welcoming place for people aged eight to 19, and those up to 25 with additional needs.
The site will be open seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year, for young people to access in their leisure time whenever schools are closed, including during school holidays.
The grand opening of Salford Youth Zone is planned on Saturday, July 5, from 11am to 3pm.
A range of facilities have been built at the centre including a gym, climbing wall, music room, arts and crafts spaces, and more.
It works by encouraging people to sign up as members, and then there is a cost of 50p per visit.
Adam Farricker is leading the scheme as chief executive of Empower Youth Zones, the charity overseeing the project.
He said there are too many families in Salford struggling to put the heating on or eat a hot meal, and the youth zone will help them reach their full potential.
“This will change so many young people’s lives,” he added.
“Not even just young people directly, but their families and the wider community as well, this will have an impact on the whole of Salford.”
The site is aimed at creating a safe and positive place for young people.
One of the ways Salford Youth Zone will make a difference is by offering each child that walks through the door a hot meal at no extra cost.
Qualified youth workers will be at the centre, as well as coaches and mentors.
It also aims to help young people discover their own strengths and learn new skills through taking part in the activities taking place each day.
Salford Youth Zone was chosen in a location where there are pockets of deprivation and poverty, as it tries to make a difference in the community.
Empower Youth Zones also runs another site in east Manchester known as HideOut Youth Zone, and it is part of a national network called OnSide Youth Zones.
Mr Farricker, 40, says a trip to a youth centre in Manchester during his childhood had a major impact on his own life – now he wants to try and do the same for others.
“There’s significantly disproportionate levels of child poverty in Salford and Manchester when compared nationally,” he said.
“When you drill down to the neighbourhood around the youth zone in Salford, it’s as high as 70 per cent, that’s nearly two thirds of the families we’ll be working with that are struggling to meet their day-to-day basic needs like putting the heating on or having a hot meal.”
Salford Youth Zone has a range of facilities.
The two youth zones set up by Empower operate with £4m a year revenue across the two sites, with 80 per cent of its funding from private businesses.
These companies are actively involved in the project, which Mr Farricker can be a huge help for young people by opening access to jobs and work opportunities.
“We’re seeing the impact of young people not having youth centres and places to go in their own time where they can be themselves, that’s becoming more and more apparent,” he added.
“It’s critically important that there is more investment in youth activities and services.”
The charity’s boss hopes to have at least 5,000 members signed up in the next 12 months, and have provided more than 30,000 free hot meals, and help countless young people across Salford.