We’re always keen to hear what you think about Life in Salford or get in touch if you have any queries, including requesting a large print copy. Please email letters to lifemagazine@salford.gov.uk or write to Life in Salford, Salford City Council, Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton M27 5DA. Your emails and letters will not be published.
Help is on hand to support you with the cost of living.
Whether you’re worried about bills, need money and debt advice, council tax support or emergency assistance with food and fuel through our Salford Assist scheme, there’s lots of help across the city. Visit our website www.salford.gov.uk/col or call the Spirit of Salford helpline on 0800 952 1000
Our team at the Gateway Centres can also support with a wide range of council and community services. Located in Swinton, Eccles, Walkden, Pendleton and Broughton they’re open Monday to Thursday 8am to 10pm, Friday 8am to 6.30pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm. Find your nearest centre at: www.salford.gov.uk/gateways
Cover image: Image of children from Little Hulton taking part in a storytelling session at the launch of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Little Hulton.
LIFE is administered and designed by Salford City Council’s Communications Team. This edition will be distributed week commencing Monday 10 March 2025. Printing: Cliffe Enterprise. Distributed to more than 130,000 households by Royal Mail and other agencies. Contact: Salford Civic Centre, Swinton, Salford, M27 5FJ. Any leaflets or flyers inserted in or distributed with this magazine do not appear with the partners (listed below) endorsement or agreement and we discourage our distributors from putting material inside your copy of LIFE IN Salford.
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Welcome to your latest edition of Life in Salford. I’m pleased to be able to update you on our budget plans for the next financial year, and how we will spend public money to provide important services to residents.
In this edition, you’ll also find updates on our corporate plan (page ten), our success in delivering affordable homes through our housing company Dérive (page eight), and major infrastructure improvements including Chapel Street, New Bailey, and Salford Rise (page 15), alongside other updates.
As City Mayor, my focus is on delivering a fair and balanced budget that protects the most vulnerable while investing in our communities. This year, Salford City Council has set a £394 million budget to support residents, communities, and businesses in a challenging financial climate.
At its core, this budget prioritises children’s services, adult social care, and public health, with 64% of the total funding - £251 million - dedicated to these areas. Supporting vulnerable adults and children, particularly the 560 in care, is one of our most critical functions. These services transform lives, which is why they remain at the heart of our spending priorities.
The budget avoids cuts to services and protects jobs. To achieve this, we’ve made tough decisions, including a 2.99% council tax increase and a 2% rise in the social care precept to cover the growing costs of adult social care. For the majority of Salford residents in Band A homes, this means an increase of just £1.25 per week.
Alongside council tax, this budget is supported by vital government grants, including a £9.7 million Recovery Grant, £5.2 million social care grant, and £2 million for preventative support to children’s services. A £4.7 million New Homes Bonus further helps us maintain services while addressing growing demands in key areas.
Supporting children and families remains a priority. This budget increases funding for school transport for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), raising the total investment in this service to £10.477 million. We are also funding short breaks for SEND families and supporting Salford Family Nurseries to ensure children get the care and opportunities they deserve.
We’re also investing more in adult social care, ensuring essential care packages are available and that care workers receive a Foundation Living Wage - recognising the vital role they play in our community.
A message from the City Mayor of Salford,
Homelessness prevention is another key focus. While we’ve received £6.5 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, rising demand and the cost of temporary accommodation mean further investment is needed.
Safe, stable housing is the foundation of good health and wellbeing, which is why our long-term investment in truly affordable social housing through Dérive is so important.
Beyond immediate needs, this budget invests in Salford’s future. For example, funding for new street-cleaning vehicles and staff supports our commitment to a cleaner, greener city.
We’re also building on last year’s successes in supporting residents and communities. Over winter, we delivered £432,000 in Winter Support Payments to over 2,000 elderly households, helping them stay warm. Our Welfare Rights Service secured over £9 million in financial gains for residents, while thousands more received help through the Salford Assist scheme. Read more about the support available on page two.
We’ve also supported the iconic Salford Lads and Girls’ Club and exceeded expectations in housing delivery, with nearly 8,000 new homes built between 2020 and 2023 - more than double our target.
Our budget is the first since the Labour government was elected last summer, and we’ve benefited from an improved financial settlement. However, we can’t ignore the financial pressures we still face. While this year’s funding settlement is a step forward, it doesn’t undo the damage of over a decade of underfunding. There remains uncertainty about long-term funding for local government, particularly as the growing demands of social care continue to strain council budgets.
Delivering a no-cuts budget reflects what can be achieved with careful planning, targeted investment, and a commitment to fairness. It’s a positive step, but we must keep pushing for a funding model that fully supports local authorities like ours.
Salford has repeatedly shown that we can deliver for residents, even in tough times. This budget enables us to do just that - supporting the most vulnerable, tackling inequality, and building a fairer city for all.
City Mayor Paul Dennett
Set to open its doors this Summer, Salford Youth Zone (SYZ), part of the EMPOWER network, will provide thousands of young people with somewhere safe to go, something positive to do and someone trusted to talk to.
SYZ is a purpose-built Youth Zone in Salford – open seven-days-a-week, for young people aged 8-19, and up to 25 for those with an additional need or disability. The state-of-the-art facility will offer more than 20 activities every session for just 50p per visit, including rock climbing, boxing, karaoke, cooking, gaming and much more. Members will also have access to a free hot meal each time they attend, as part of SYZ’s dedication to supporting young people in the Salford area and making a meaningful impact in the community. Over the last few months, SYZ has held exclusive site tours for patrons, partners and community supporters to explore the space and celebrate the progress it has made so far. Located adjacent to Belverdere Road and Broadwalk in Pendleton, SYZ will have the capacity to accommodate up to 150 young people per night. This follows the success of HideOut Youth Zone in Gorton, which has attracted over 8,000 members since it opened in 2020.
SYZ aims to help young people in Salford lead happy, safe and successful lives. Recent research published by national youth charity OnSide highlighted the importance of Youth Zones for young people, particularly during the cost-of-living crisis. The findings revealed that 24% of 11–18-year-olds in the North West spend most of their free time on their smartphone. A striking 46% of the North West’s young people would like to break the habit but 41% don’t know how. SYZ aims to fill this gap by offering meaningful opportunities and experiences open to all local young people. This will help them meet new people and give them access to Youth Workers who can support them. It also aims to help young people in the area realise their potential and develop new skills. Beyond recreational activities, SYZ will also help young people develop life skills such as financial literacy, work experience and employment readiness.
Membership for SYZ will open for sign-up on Thursday 27 March! Head to our website to find out more information: www.salfordyouthzone.org
SCAN TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST FOR OUR NEXT OPEN DAY
Salford Now, the dedicated news website for Salford, run exclusively by Journalism students at the University of Salford, is celebrating a series of recent milestones.
The website, which reports on news and sport from across the city, remains the sole Salford-focused online news outlet. Since students returned to University in September ‘24, it has had over 250,000 unique visits (as at January ‘25), with over 5 million views on video content hosted on the channel’s Facebook page in December ’24.
The website’s social media accounts on TikTok and Instagram also received hundreds of thousands of views from December ‘24 to January ‘25, showcasing the breadth of interest in the content from a wide range of audiences.
Robin Brown, a Lecturer in Journalism, pitched the idea for the website with the support of other Journalism colleagues, back in 2017. He said: “I saw a real opportunity for a Salford-dedicated news website that the University could be a part of. Salford is
a great patch, it’s got a wide range of interesting areas, amazing sport on its doorstep and burgeoning industries. We wanted to own that space whilst enabling our students to get a real learning experience at the same time.”
The growth in tra c in channels such as Facebook has been attributed to a strategic increase in live reporting from key incidents across the city and tailored video content for the channel that keeps audiences up to date.
Al e Mulligan, Web Content Editor Intern at Salford Now, and Salford BA Journalism (Multimedia) graduate, said “The aim for the website has always been to be known as a news website and not a student website. As such, the students are putting a lot of work in to try and be as reactive as we can to breaking news and try and deliver as much as we can.”
He added: “As a student, it was a great way to get your name out there and also to give a voice to all of Salford’s communities.”
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and the council are inviting parents of children born in 2024, 2025 and 2026 in Little Hulton to sign up to enrol in the programme.
The council is providing additional funding for the latest book gifting programme in the city which is devoted to inspiring a love of reading in children.
Inspired by her father’s inability to read or write, country music icon Dolly started her Imagination Library in 1995 for children in her home county.
Today, her programme spans five countries and gifts over three million free books each month to children, regardless of the family’s income.
The programme posts an age-appropriate book each month to children from birth to age five. The books are specially wrapped and addressed to the child and delivered, at no cost to the family. When children turn five, they receive a graduation book and a special letter to mark the end of the scheme.
Councillor Jim Cammell, Lead Member for Children’s and Young People’s Services at Salford City Council, said: “It’s great news that we are able to launch another Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Salford. This will add to our work to improve educational outcomes and literacy for early years children in the city. This is particularly important as there continues to be a gap in Salford’s outcomes compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
“We are committed to working in partnership with all our communities to ensure Salford is a great place, where children get the best start in life, and can learn and develop the skills they need to thrive. We have recently launched a gold standard literacy hub with the National Literacy Trust, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will support the work of the hub by promoting reading from the early years of a child’s life.”
Meg Fletcher, Regional Director at The Dollywood Foundation from Dolly Parton Imagination Library, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Salford City Council to reach even more children in the community. We’re building on a strong history of programmes in the city thanks to the tireless efforts of our champions and hope that families enjoy receiving the books each month!”
The council’s Starting Life Well service and 0 to 19 years team in Little Hulton, Little Hulton Family Hub staff and the local library team in Little Hulton are supporting the programme. Families with babies born in Little Hulton in 2024, 2025 or 2026 can enrol by emailing West.Locality@salford.gov.uk for more information.
Work is continuing to restore the much-loved Buile Hill Mansion to bring it back into public use.
Located at the heart of Buile Hill Park, the mansion will be the new home of Salford Register Office, so will be the place to go to register births, marriages and deaths. It will also boast an impressive ceremony room for weddings and a separate function room with a fully stocked bar and dancefloor for receptions and parties.
Community groups will be able to book a community room for meetings and activities, while the ground floor café will serve a selection of sandwiches, soups, hot and cold drinks and cakes.
The mansion was built between 1825 and 1827 for Thomas Potter, a wealthy textile merchant and Manchester’s first mayor. Original features including a grand staircase, ornate windows and wrought iron radiators are being restored to keep the building’s character and splendour.
The work is scheduled to finish later this year, with weddings and functions starting from early 2026.
Find out more at www.venuesinsalford.co.uk/buile-hill-mansion or to enquire about weddings email marriages@salford.gov.uk
Dérive Salford, set up in 2018 by Salford City Council provides affordable homes for local people. Dérive have already delivered over 350 affordable homes, with a significant proportion available at genuine social rents, and over 430 homes currently in construction.
Read about the latest developments across the city, including recently approved plans in the pipeline:
• St Luke’s, Eccles New Road – 68 new homes on the grounds of the former St Luke’s school, including 32 houses and 36 apartments, built to Passivhaus standards which mean they are extremely efficient to reduce the energy bills for people who live in them.
• The Folds, Little Hulton – Six affordable homes completed in the first phase at the Folds in Little Hulton. When finished, the site on Longshaw Drive will have 177 homes, with 92 available for affordable and social rent and twenty homes available for shared ownership.
• Bridgewater Street, Little Hulton – Plans approved for 15 homes, three two-bedroomed, four threebedroomed family houses and eight apartments for young people at risk of homelessness.
• Tully Street South, Higher Broughton – Plans approved for ten self-contained apartments for young people who are, or at risk of becoming homeless.
Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said: I promised 600 affordable homes in my four-year term. We are delivering on that promise and will continue to work hard to provide the truly affordable housing that local people need and deserve.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Lowry, one of Salford’s most iconic cultural venues. To celebrate, an exciting programme of events will take place throughout the year, featuring some well-known names alongside new commissions. A major highlight is Lowry 360, an immersive exhibition showcasing Going to the Match, opening on Saturday 3 May.
Art lovers can also look forward to ‘Stories - Brought to Life’, a groundbreaking exhibition from the National Portrait Gallery and Frameless Creative. Opening on Friday 2 May, this immersive experience will bring to life the stories of influential figures who have shaped the UK’s history and culture from the Tudor era to today.
Find out more about what events are on in Salford at: www.visitsalford.info
Music fans won’t want to miss Sounds from the Other City, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
Taking over venues across Chapel Street, this muchloved independent festival promises a day of eclectic performances on Bank Holiday Sunday 4 May.
Adding to the excitement, the UK Chinese Dragon Boat Festival returns on Sunday 25 May, offering a thrilling day of competitive paddling, dance performances, and cultural showcases along the waterfront.
Finally, Salford’s vibrant LGBTQ+ event, The Pink Picnic, is back and bigger than ever. Taking place on Saturday 21 June, this independent pride celebration will feature live music, performances, and community stalls.
From circus to opera, family shows to West End musicals, Lowry have saved you a seat and a few quid for every performance!
HOW DOES OUR LOWRY WORK?
Once you’ve signed up, every week we will send you an email containing exclusive offers only for you.
HOW DO I SIGN UP TO OUR LOWRY?
Email our@thelowry.com or call the box office on 0161 876 2000 and tell us your name, postcode and confirm you want to start getting offers from us.
From tackling poverty and inequality to creating places where people want to live, initiatives in the council’s corporate plan are already making a difference.
Highlights include how support from Welfare Rights and Debt Advice helped secure over £5.6 million of additional income for people in the first half of the financial year.
The Salford Big Device Giveaway provided free devices to 624 digitally excluded residents, helping them access education and job opportunities.
Salford’s social housing delivery is the best in Greater Manchester and affordable and quality nearly net zero carbon houses continue to be built. The council's solar car ports provide electricity to buildings, saving 270 tonnes of carbon every year. Eight Salford parks and two cemeteries now have prestigious Green Flag Awards. The council’s Care Leavers service is judged as outstanding and 87% of secondary schools are now judged good or better – an improvement from 40% in 2021. Opening soon is the Salford Youth Zone, a state-of-the-art facility to support young people.
Salford recorded England’s highest uptake of NHS health checks overall and increased awareness around early cancer detection.
Salford housing association Salix Homes has announced its new Chief Executive.
Liam Turner takes over the role from outgoing CEO Sue Sutton who is retiring this summer, after a 25-year career in housing.
Liam has worked at Salix Homes for the past 12 years, and is the current Executive Director of Assets, Growth and Sustainability, with responsibility for property, building safety, development and sustainability.
Salix Homes owns 8,000 homes across Salford, and last year become one of the first housing associations in the country to achieve the top C1 (Consumer) grading from the Regulator of Social Housing, in recognition of its homes and services.
The council won Estates Gazette ‘City of the Year’ award for its economic growth achievements, sustainability projects promoting green spaces and renewable energy and cultural sites.
See more successes at www.salford.gov.uk/performance
Liam said: “I’m truly honoured to be appointed as the new Chief Executive at Salix Homes. Sue Sutton has set an incredibly high standard, and I’m committed to continuing the legacy she has built, ensuring Salix Homes delivers the highest quality homes and services to our customers and communities.
“As we approach our ten year anniversary this year, and work on our new Corporate Plan for 2025 and beyond, we have a real opportunity to build on the achievements we’ve made, and I look forward to leading Salix Homes on the next stage of the journey, helping to create a brighter future for Salford.”
Booking your repairs online has never been easier – we’ve completely overhauled the process to give you a better, more reliable experience. With this new tool, you can:
• Upload photos directly. No need to choose words – just snap a picture of the repair needed and upload it directly, so we can see exactly what you need.
• Got more than one issue? You can now schedule all your repairs in a single booking.
• Book repairs and change or cancel your appointments anytime, day or night – no waiting for office hours.
• We listened to our customers and there is no more chatbot – making the experience more straightforward
In addition to our repairs booking improvements, you can also:
• Check your rent balance, set up a new direct debit and download our improved new-look statements.
• Make payments and track your cases in real time.
• Report an issue.
• Make a compliment or complaint.
We’ve expanded our appointment times up to 7pm on weekdays and introduced new Saturday appointments.
Boost your mood and your health this spring with five easy-to-action tips inspired by the Five Ways to Wellbeing.
Building good relationships is essential for mental wellbeing, helping you develop a sense of belonging and confidence. Ideas to strengthen relationships include:
• Connect daily with family or friends; even by email, text, or voice messages.
• Arrange a quick coffee with friends.
• Turn off the TV to talk or play games with loved ones.
• Say or do something that makes them happy
• Visit a friend or family member who may need companionship.
• Volunteer at a local school, hospital, or community group.
Being more active benefits both physical health and overall wellbeing.
• Try gardening, walking, dancing, scan the QR codes below to find activities offered by our Health Improvement Team, Salford Community Leisure and local community groups.
• Consider yoga or sound healing for mind-body strengthening.
• If you’re over 65 or a wheelchair user, search for strength and balance classes nearby or online.
• Challenge yourself to reduce sedentary activities at home and outdoors.
Learning new skills can boost selfconfidence and purpose. Things to try:
• Learn to cook something new, healthy and budget-friendly.
• Work on DIY projects using free video tutorials.
• Learn a new language or practical skill at a local college.
• Explore new hobbies, such as writing a blog or painting or nature activities.
Acts of giving can improve mental wellbeing and create positive feelings. Examples include:
• Thank someone for their help.
• Listen when asking friends how they are.
• Offer to assist someone with DIY or a work project.
• Volunteer in your community.
• Even a smile can brighten someone’s day.
Being mindful can improve mental wellbeing by paying attention to your thoughts, feelings, body, and surroundings.
Try:
• Getting outdoors and joining a hiking group.
• Painting or drawing.
• Practicing meditation, yoga or breathing exercises. Remember, every action countswhether reaching out to a loved one, trying a new hobby, or appreciating the beauty around you. Together, we can take a step forward this spring toward lasting positive change.
Try something new such as sewing, cooking or learn a new language.
Find ways to move more and explore Salford’s many parks and green spaces and take part in the Greater Manchester Walking Festival.
Take up the offer of important health screening, when I am invited.
Download our free health and wellbeing calendar for more tips, resources, and local support to help you feel positive this Spring and beyond. www.partnersinsalford.org/ media/voclc2tn/salfordpublic-health-wellbeingcalendar-2024.pdf
Scan the QR Code for more information on Health Improvement Connect and how to get more active
That’s the message from Parents
4 Positive Change, a group of Salford women who have been working with the council on a new public campaign.
Many of the women have experienced domestic abuse and said the one thing that would have helped them at the time was if somebody had called the police to help them.
They want to encourage people who see or hear domestic abuse to get help for the victim by calling the police. Sarah* (not her real name) said: “We know people are reluctant to get involved, but if you keep ignoring it, it can get worse, and the victim often doesn’t have the strength to call the police themselves. You really can make the difference to their life.”
The message is to call 999 in an emergency, and a police officer will attend.
If it’s not an emergency, there are other ways you can report domestic abuse:
Report it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111
Call the non-emergency police line on 101
Report it online to Greater Manchester Police at www.gmp.police.uk/ro/report/domestic-abuse/a1/report-domestic-abuse/
Go to your local police station
Look out for the campaign from April.
For more advice and information about reporting domestic abuse scan the QR code.
Claims companies who contact you and offer to help, may promise quick fixes but often leave you with delays, stress and hidden costs. Reporting issues through ForHousing’s complaints procedure ensures your concerns are handled directly, fairly, and often faster. Don’t be misled — talk to us on 0300 123 5522 so we can fix your issue as quickly as possible.
Network Rail is investing £21 million to build a third platform at Salford Crescent station, and working with Transport for Greater Manchester to upgrade the station facilities at Salford Central, to improve passenger experience, modernise the station and complement the Platform 1 and 2 refurbishments for an additional £10 million.
Work began at both stations in early 2025, with Salford Central set to complete by October 2025 and Salford Crescent’s third platform opening in 2026.
Salford Crescent will close on several weekends from March to September 2025, while Salford Central will close from 10 February to 21 April 2025. Rail services across Salford will also be disrupted on multiple weekends in 2025, so passengers are advised to plan ahead.
The new platform at Salford Crescent will improve passenger flow and reduce train delays by increasing flexibility for trains through Manchester and beyond.
At Salford Central, upgrades include a new ticket office, modernised station building, covered walkway from the lift to Platform 1, improved accessibility, and new customer information points. There will also be signage for passengers to join up with the Bee Network, Greater Manchester’s vision for an integrated public transport system.
Works on the long-anticipated scheme on Chapel Street and New Bailey are set to start after Easter.
The £4.3 million works will transform a section of Chapel Street on the Bee Network, including the junction with New Bailey Street, which is the final phase of the New Bailey Gateway project.
Improvements will also be made to Chapel Street between New Bailey Street and Blackfriars Street as part of the Chapel Street East Phase 1 project.
The works are part of a longterm plan to build high quality, safer pedestrian and cycling provision across the city centre. Public realm improvements will see the installation of rain gardens, planting beds and new trees introduced. There will also be upgraded surfaces and new street furniture to create a more inviting and dynamic space for all to enjoy.
The scheme will use a ‘complete streets’ approach to rebalance the space in favour of pedestrians and cyclists while also catering for buses, general traffic and loading with continuous cycle tracks and footways, new greenery and sustainable urban drainage systems.
The Construction of Salford Rise – a transformative element of a wider £2.5 billion, 252-acre Crescent Salford masterplan – has begun.
The infrastructure and public realm project will remove physical barriers between the communities to the north of the Crescent area, replacing them with walking and cycling routes focused on accessibility and active travel, significantly improving connectivity between these communities and Crescent Salford.
Partially funded by £13.17 million from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund, Salford Rise forms a key part of our Crescent masterplan. This will provide more than 3,000 homes, one million square feet of offices, retail and leisure, a multi-model transport hub, and vast areas of green space for pop-up events and festivals.
Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett, said: “Salford Rise will better connect our communities to the Crescent and University campus and provide transformational change across Crescent Innovation, helping to unlock world-class innovation-led research and development opportunities that Salford residents and businesses can benefit from.”
Frederick Road was closed for four weeks in February for preparatory works. For future road closures and roadwork updates please visit: crescentsalford.com/news
www.salford.gov.uk/majorworks
Here at Recycle for Greater Manchester we have been looking into how we can help Salford residents waste less food. We’ve got lots of tips like buying only what you need, hacks to store leftovers to keep them fresher for longer and we've even got recipes to use leftovers to avoid them going in the bin. Lots of us make the most of our food but we know that there’s always food waste and unfortunately this is going in the wrong bins.
Although we know that wasting food is something we all loathe to do, we want to remind you that wasted food tends to happen when we buy too much or store things incorrectly. To avoid throwing money in the bin follow our tips by scanning the QR code.
The food waste you might have at home are vegetable peelings, crusts (for those who don’t want curly hair!) tea bags or coffee grounds, meat bones or plate scrapings. All those can be collected in a food caddy which you can get free of charge if you contact Salford City Council: www.salford.gov.uk/recycling
This food waste will be used to make compost which is used as soil conditioner in farms across the North West and is available at our Renew shops - a better alternative to putting it in your general waste bin.
