December 2024, Manchester – The Salford-based property developer Sandywood Property, run by Paul Sweeney, has been announced as the latest donor to Empower’s Salford Youth Zone.
As part of the donation, Sandywood Property will be providing £100,000 across four years to Salford Youth Zone, which will contribute towards the development and maintenance of the site. This will include funding the activities and services that young people rely on, such as sports clubs, music facilities, and art and craft classes.
The developer company was set up by Paul Sweeney in 2021 and has been behind significant renovation projects across Salford including the renovation of the 200-year-old-building being run as a café in Worsley Village, which was then tenanted by Leopard Pie Pizza. Sandywood Property was also behind the £600k transformation of the former Worsley Methodist chapel tenanted to Worsley Coffee Co in 2022 and is currently working on renovating another 200-year old building in Swinton which will open in 2025.
To help fund this, Sandywood will be donating part of the rental income from Leopard Pie and Worsey Coffee co to Salford Youth Zone, meaning that customers of each will play a part supporting the Youth Zone.
Sandywood Property will also facilitate training for young people in the Youth Zone that are interested in exploring careers in the hospitality sector. It will do this by leveraging its renovation projects to provide training opportunities and experiences.
Born and raised in Salford, Sweeney is well known in the Greater Manchester business community. Following seven years at TSL close by to the site of Salford Youth Zone, Sweeney joined ANS as a sales executive where he spent 25 years and later progressed to Non-Executive Director and CEO. His local ties are what motivated him to donate to Salford Youth Zone and follows the announcement of Muse and Assura as patron donors in November.
Salford Youth Zone is on track to open next summer and will be the latest Empower Youth Zone in Greater Manchester, following HideOut in Gorton, East Manchester which was set up in 2020. It will support thousands of young people in Salford communities, which Empower youth workers will play a pivotal role in.
Paul Sweeney, director of Sandywood Properties commented: “Having worked closely with Youth Zones throughout my career, it’s a real privilege to be working with Salford Youth Zone as its latest donor. I’m a proud Salfordian and passionate about ensuring that young people in the community have access to opportunities that will help them develop essential skills and discover their interests and hobbies. Salford Youth Zone is a brilliant addition to our local area and one that the wider Sandywood Property team and I are excited to be a part of.”
Adam Farricker, CEO of Empower Youth Zones added: “Paul’s experience both in his career and personal life means that he has a first-hand understanding of the importance of the work that we do and the difference it makes. As we come to the end of 2024, we want to express our gratitude to all of our donors that we have partnered with in the last year. We can’t wait to see all that 2025 has in store for Empower and the impact that Salford Youth Zone will have.”
As well as providing a place for young people in Salford to learn new hobbies and develop new skills, SYZ will create 70 new roles, providing opportunities to the wider Salford community.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Press contact:
Alesha Sinclair, MC2
About Empower Youth Zones:
Empower Youth Zones are purpose-built spaces fizzing with energy and crammed with incredible facilities. These youth centres, called Youth Zones, provide local young people aged between eight and 19, or up to 25 with a disability, affordable access to high-quality sports, arts and leisure facilities and activities, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. They are staffed by skilled and dedicated youth workers who truly believe in young people – helping them see what they could achieve, and giving them the skills, confidence and ambition to go for it.
