Salford launches action plan to tackle homelessness

Thousands of people in Salford are facing homelessness according to new figures, with mayor Paul Dennett taking urgent measures to tackle the issue.

More than 6,000 people went to the council for help with homelessness last year, a number which bosses say has grown by 40 per cent over the last half a decade.

It comes after the city declared a housing and homelessness crisis last January in the face of a huge spike in homeless applications.

This week, Salford council pushed forward new measures to try and get on top of the situation.

Homelessness in Salford

It approved plans to build 25 affordable homes across two locations in the city, creating ‘much needed’ supported accommodation for young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

The first development is based on Bridgewater Street in Little Hulton, made up of two and three-bedroom family homes with off-street parking and rear gardens and eight one-bedroom apartments for people aged 18 to 25.

The new affordable housing will be owned and managed by Dérive, Salford council’s own housing company.

The second development, on Tully Street South in Higher Broughton, will create ten self-contained apartments for single occupancy, each with a bathroom, living space, kitchen, and dining area.

Tackling homelessness in Salford

These homes will also be owned and managed by Dérive and are being delivered under the Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme (SHAP), a government-led scheme that aims to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

Mr Dennett said the plans are a “vital” part of the city’s efforts to turn the situation around.

“The approval of both these affordable home developments is a significant step forward in our plans to provide the affordable and social homes which local people need and deserve,” he added.

“It’s vital we continue to work to provide truly affordable housing in our city.

“Without a stable, secure, affordable place to live everything else suffers, from health to education to employment prospects.”

Coun Tracy Kelly

Coun Tracy Kelly, Salford’s housing lead, said: “These homes will support a pathway out of homelessness into settled accommodation, and all the benefits that settled accommodation brings to improving life chances of young people, access to employment and education opportunities and improving health and wellbeing.”

Salford is ranked as one of the most deprived local authority areas in the country, and homelessness has been a major issue for years.

A report published last summer revealed that the council is increasingly having to step in to help people facing life on the streets.

It found that homeless prevention cases have rocketed from 1,900 in 2021 up to more than 3,000 in 2024.

The town hall has taken steps to try and change things, with new housing a key part of the plan. Salford built nearly 8,000 new homes between 2020 and 2023 – more than double its target. This is alongside 500 new council homes built in the last five years, and another 600 on the way.

But the council has also faced criticism over its record on homelessness from opposition members. Coun Robin Garrido, leader of the local Conservative group, said last year that the council missed an opportunity by not turning “empty” offices at the Civic Centre in Swinton into temporary accommodation.

He told I Love MCR in July: “This council hasn’t done enough on homelessness, not at all.”