Member Article

Name wanted for Salford training centre

A ground-breaking housing project to help young people in Salford get into work is looking for help to come up with a name for its state-of-the-art training centre.

Social landlord Salix Homes’ flagship scheme will transform the disused homeless hostel Petrie Court in Lower Kersal into a state-of-the-art training centre with live-in accommodation to help young people transform their lives.

Now the centre needs a name and Salix Homes is asking for suggestions in time for the building’s opening next year.

The initiative, called the Salford Working Out Project, will be the only one of its kind in Salford providing people aged 16-25 with a stable place to live while they work, complete their education or undertake training.

The Petrie Court development is a £1m investment, with funding from the Homes and Communities Agency being matched by Salix Homes.

The centre in Lower Kersal is one part of the overall project and will house shared accommodation, a training centre, fitness facility and ICT suite.

Mike Wright, Head of Housing Choice at Salix Homes, said: “This is a flagship project for Salix Homes, one of only a few such schemes in the country and we believe it will be one of the best.”

“The scheme will open up opportunities for young people from Salford which they might not have had. It will be a real lifeline and we believe it will help transform lives.

“The transformation of Petrie Court will be critical to creating these opportunities and that is why we want a new name that will mark the transformation of the building.”

The now-empty Petrie Court had previously provided supported accommodation to young homeless people, but closed down in 2014 as part of Salford Council’s funding cuts.

There are currently more than 2,200 people aged 16-25 on the housing waiting list in Salford and more than 6,000 young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEETS).

Please email suggestions for a new name for Petrie Court to: marketing@salixhomes.org

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Hayley Collins .