Building Salford's future: Groundbreaking ceremony marks the start of new Salford Youth Zone (SYZ)

In a landmark event that marks a significant step forward for our community, the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Salford Youth Zone took place earlier this month. Set to open in summer 2025, SYZ promises a new era for the city's youths, offering a variety of educational, recreational, and developmental opportunities in a safe inclusive environment, empowering young people to thrive whilst adding to the overall growth of the city.

The ceremony was well attended by local leaders, supporters and representatives of Empower Youth Zones, amongst which were Councillor Teresa Pepper, Deputy Lord Lieutenant Mrs. Susan Lomas OBE DL and City Mayor Paul Dennett. Empower Youth Zones is the youth charity responsible for overseeing the operations of both HideOut Youth Zone in Gorton and Salford Youth Zone.

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said: "This new Salford Youth Zone (SYZ) will make a huge difference to the lives of young people in our city. They will learn new skills, make new friends and it will help to keep them healthy, both mentally and physically. A huge thanks to Fred Done for his significant donation that has made this all possible.

“It was fantastic to be on site for a special ceremony to mark the start of works with the first spade in the ground and meet some of the young people and our partners who are going to make SYZ a huge success.”

Situated on Belvedere Road, this state-of-the-art facility comes with a fully equipped film and recording studio, 3G sports pitch, fitness suite, enterprise and employability suite amongst many other modern structures required to deliver over 20 activities per session, 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year.

Beyond its direct benefits to young people, SYZ also holds promise for the wider area through mentoring schemes, jobs and volunteering opportunities creating a positive, vibrant hub of activities encouraging community cohesion. With each brick laid, the Youth Zone represents a beacon of hope and possibility for generations to come. And as the community came together to celebrate this momentous occasion, we were reminded that true progress is not achieved alone, but through the collective efforts of a united community.

Reflecting on the event, CEO of Empower Youth Zones, Adam Farricker shared: “This is passionate, properly funded youth provision. A unique partnership between young people, their community, local authorities, private business leadership and a growing movement of supporters. Today’s turnout fills us with immense joy and reconfirms the significance of this facility – I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone in attendance and those supporting us from a distance.”