Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham launches flagship centre for young people

The new mayor of Greater Manchester has today (Thursday, May 11) launched a flagship scheme to provide affordable housing for young people in Salford.

Andy Burnham was at the launch of The Hive in Kersal – a new state-of-the-art facility, owned by Salix Homes, to provide much-needed accommodation for people aged 18-25.

Mr Burnham paid a visit to the centre, where he announced that Salford Mayor Paul Dennett would be his new portfolio lead for housing, regeneration and homelessness.

Mr Burnham said: “It’s great for me to be in Salford at Salix Homes’ new development – The Hive.

“It speaks of everything that I’m about as the new mayor. I want to help young people make their way in the world and this is a development that’s very much focussed on young people and housing that’s affordable to them.

“But more broadly it’s about housing that is there for the community and not just building luxury homes that people here can’t afford, but building houses that are truly affordable to the people of Greater Manchester.

“This really embodies what my manifesto was all about and I’m very proud to be here to support it, and I would like to see more of this type of development all across Greater Manchester.”

The Hive is one of the first centres of its kind in Greater Manchester providing affordable accommodation for up to 14 young people while they work, complete their education or training.

Lee Sugden, chief executive at Salix Homes, said: “It’s been fantastic to welcome the new Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to The Hive – our new scheme in Salford to house young people in a safe and secure environment where they can get a great start in life and hopefully prosper to become really successful in the future.

“We are delighted to be able to launch this scheme and I very much hope that this is the first of many opportunities that ourselves and other housing providers can do for the young people of Greater Manchester.”

The Hive focuses on supporting young people whose ability to work or study is being hampered by their unsuitable living arrangements – it may be that they are sofa surfing or don’t have a permanent place to live.

Milo Kamara, 20, is the first resident to move into the brand new centre.

He said: “I’m an apprentice, paying full rent, living on my own in a flat and I was really struggling to afford it.

“I was basically working for nothing because three quarters of my wages was gone on my rent straight away.

“The Hive is made for people like me, and living here will make a huge difference, but it’s not only the money that will make a difference, there will also be a lot more opportunities for me living here with all the training that’s on offer.”

We are also working with local skills and education providers to provide on-site training programmes for residents, from cooking courses to ICT classes.

The £1million facility was granted funding from the Homes and Communities Agency, and was match-funded by Salix Homes.

We have worked alongside contractor Seddon to totally transform and modernise the building on Cromwell Road, which was once the site of Petrie Court homeless shelter, but has stood empty since closing down in 2014.

The state-of-the art centre has seven two-bedroom flats, providing affordable accommodation for 14 young people, priced at £71 per week, including some bills.

The facility was named The Hive in honour of Kersal councillor Harry Davies, who passed away last year and was well-known in the community for his commitment to helping others and his passion for beekeeping.

Video: Milo meets Mayor Andy Burnham to talk about the impact affordable housing has had on his life @salford_mayor @SalixHomes pic.twitter.com/oqO6RdgrsH

— Mayor Andy Burnham (@MayorofGM) May 11, 2017