This morning we were kindly invited along to the official launch party of the £13m Fred Done backed Salford Youth Zone on Belvedere Way in the regeneration area of Pendleton, a project which I can honestly report is truly outstanding.

I was born (Home Birth) just a stones throw away in Larch Court which runs along the same stretch of road as which the new youth zone is located. The block of maisonettes didn’t stand for too long before being demolished to make way for what is currently a soon to be demolished bingo hall. Before that the area was part of the infamous Hanky Park, a patch of Salford widely known historically for high levels of poverty and social decline.

I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones, my family moved away to live in one of those posh prefabs in Weaste (We had central heating) and I had a father who worked hard and a mother who looked after us well. I was shielded at home from poverty but my father had to work two jobs to keep us above that red line. As I said, I was relatively one of the lucky ones but many of my friends were not quite so fortunate. I grew up surrounded by kids whose families struggled and in most cases not through any fault of their parents. Work was hard to come by and redundancy was word on the lips of many families back then as the factories closed their doors and as a result jobs were lost. It was a time when finances were being hit and the impact it had on many local families were painful to witness, a bit like in recent years tbh.

Thankfully, things are not quite so bleak these days but for many families the situation remains nowhere close to what it should be.

Fred Done Cuts The Ribbon At The Official Opening Of Salford Youth Zone

Many kids in Salford perilously face the prospect of falling victim and becoming trapped by that same cycle of poverty, their lives could quite easily still go down the wrong path. This is why this new Youth Zone holds such importance as it acts as a first line of defence against that happening.

One of the key factors which will have the most impact is the selection of talented leaders who have been picked because of their knowledge and expertise, they will be on hand seven days per week, 52 weeks a year to offer support and mentorship.

What Salford Council have succeeded in doing here (with the help of Fred and other contributors) is nothing short of something special, a true gamechanger on so many levels for the youth of Salford and that was evident at the launch today, written clearly in the smiles and excitement we witnessed on the faces of those same kids it is aimed at helping.

I recently visited another Youth Zone out of the area and I was hugely impressed but this is on a whole new level and the facilities available are just staggering to say the least.

I honestly do not think that those responsible for bringing this amazing place from concept to reality, truly understand the huge impact it is going to have on the youth of this city.

As the title says, this is one of those true game changing and defining moments, and for just the measly token cost of 50p per visit, the youth of Salford finally have the state of the art facilities to change their lives for the better, chart a different path for their futures, and lift themselves out of that cycle of poverty, crime and gang culture.

This is a special place, it comes at a perfect time and will most definitely change many lives for the better. Today Salford gained a huge asset.