Broughton Hub is one of many warm spaces in Salford that welcome people in to keep warm and have a brew this winter season.
A spokesperson for the hub said: “It’s important to help people in these hard times. And we want to help as many people as we can and do our bit for the people of Salford.
“We offer free WiFi because lots of people can’t afford it at home. We’re open until 10 o’clock at night so a lot of students come in and use it.”
The hub has found that a large number of parents were bringing their children in to keep them warm so they added kids activities in the evenings.
Monday is a film night, on Tuesdays and Thursdays board games are brought out and on Wednesday nights there are arts and crafts resources.
People in Broughton who are struggling to keep up with their energy bills are choosing to cook rather than turn their heating on.
The cost of living crisis has particularly affected areas in Salford like Broughton who have been hit hard by the drastic increase of energy bills.
Andre Chandler, who lives in Broughton, said: “I have had to become more responsible with my money and budget more. We don’t have the heating on and we use the oven for warmth.”
Another resident says that she swapped to buying the cheapest of everything including bread, butter and toilet roll and even buys in bulk. She also said that she does not turn her radiators on.
Energy crisis hot spots are neighbourhoods where energy use is high and the typical household income is below the national average. This is often because houses are poorly insulated so require more energy to heat them up.
United for Warm Homes statistics show that there are 33 energy crisis hot spots in Broughton and 49 per cent of houses in the area were found to be inefficient.
The average energy bill in Broughton is £2,570 per year.
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