Salford youth group funded by cash recovered by police

A Salford organisation is using money recovered during criminal investigations to fund projects for the entire community in Little Hulton.

The Big Local manage many projects including a youth group for youngsters, with weekly attendances of over 80 young people.

The money used to fund these projects comes from an initiative by Greater Manchester police, which aims to take money that was obtained through illegal activity and re-purpose it in the areas that need it most.

In the past year Salford has received £30,000 thanks to this initiative, with a £2,500 boost in the past few months.

This comes after Greater Manchester Police (GMP) swooped in on multiple cannabis farms around the city, and issued a court order to collect £173,000.

The GMP are currently in the process of collecting the money.

DI Helen Critchley from GMP spoke with the Local Democracy Reporting Service and said that the £2,500 would go towards ‘keeping the lights on’ at the youth club, which provides two activity sessions a week and offers a safe space for youngsters outside of school hours.

“It also gives parents the confidence that there’s somewhere that their kids can be safe,” she said.

The youth group is run by Youth Unity and takes place at Little Hulton Library.

The Ellenbrook Village Association has also received money after the raid on the cannabis farms.

This volunteer organisation will use the funding to try and reduce crime in the local area and aim to improve the feeling of public safety.