North West secures £24m for new youth zones

Facilities focused on helping young people in Salford, Preston, and Crewe could become a reality thanks to the latest round of awards from the government’s Youth Investment Fund.

The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport announced the recipients of the £90m phase two YIF awards on Monday.

Culture secretary Lucy Frazer said: “I want every young person to have the opportunity to access the kinds of life-changing activities which expand their horizons and allow them to develop vital life skills…

“We are supporting this today with an investment to create or renovate spaces for youth clubs and activities to support opportunities for thousands of young people across the country who would otherwise miss out.”

All three youth zones in the North West are still awaiting planning permission from their respective authorities.

Plans for the Preston Youth Zone were submitted by national youth charity OnSide in November. The project was awarded an £8.3m grant from the YIF. Under designs by John Puttick Associates, the 30,900 sq ft youth facility would sit on the corner of Crooked Lane and Tithebarn Street.

The Preston Youth Zone has been in the works for nearly a decade. If it is built, it will offer young people in the area a variety of amenities including a climbing wall, boxing classes, skate park, a multi-sensory room, dance studio, and a radio booth. Read more about the Preston Youth Zone.

Ambitions for a Crewe Youth Zone were unveiled in December, when OnSide submitted plans to Cheshire East Council. Architect Seven designed the facility, which, if planning permission is secured, will be built on the site of Oak Street Car Park.

The government awarded the Crewe Youth Zone £8.3m from YIF. OnSide estimates that the facility could support around 4,000 young people. Activities on offer would include climbing, employability training, football, music, and drama. Read more about Crewe Youth Zone.

Over in Greater Manchester, OnSide partner Empower Youth Zones has received £7.6m from YIF for a Salford Youth Zone. Of that £7.6m, £6.2m is for the building of the centre on a site adjacent to Belverdere Road and Boardwalk in Pendleton. The remaining funds are going towards site preparation and pre-opening costs.

The Salford Youth Zone facility would offer young people access to a music studio, film and multimedia suite, climbing wall, sports hall, and fitness gym.

If plans are approved for the Salford Youth Zone, construction could begin in August and the facility could open in early 2025. Even though charity Empower Youth Zones would manage the youth hub, it would still operate as part of the OnSide network of youth zones.

Adam Farricker, chief executive of Empower Youth Zones, said he was grateful to receive an award from YIF.

“With the cost-of-living impacting planning and production of Salford Youth Zone by increasing price of labour and materials in the initial build, having these costs secured through the Youth Investment Fund means we can begin to focus on kickstarting major work to fund annual running costs,” Farricker said.

“We’d like to thank the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Social Investment Business for accepting our application. This is a great start to the Salford Youth Zone story.”