Salford Lads Club: historic youth centre battles to keep doors open

Salford Lads Club, the youth centre immortalised by the Smiths on the sleeve of their third studio album The Queen Is Dead, is under threat of closure.

The rising costs of maintaining and running the Grade II-listed building, as well as a drop in grant funding, have left it with a shortfall of about £250,000.

Opened 120 years ago in Ordsall, it continues to provide a lifeline to young people from some of Greater Manchester’s most deprived communities, offering sports and other activities six days a week.

Related: Salford marks 30 years since Smiths released The Queen Is Dead

Initially founded as a club for boys, but now open to all young people, it was officially opened in January 1904 by Robert Baden-Powell, who later founded the Scout movement.

The tiled interior still features many of its original fittings, and was described by English Heritage as “thought to be the most complete example of this rare form of social provision to survive in England”.

Recognising its place in the tapestry of Greater Manchester’s musical history, Salford Lads Club also has a Smiths room, which is regularly open to visitors.

However, the club has suffered a drop in grant income in an increasingly competitive field. Last year the club’s annual income was £160,000, while its outgoings came to £394,700.

The club wants to hire new staff, to professionalise the running of the club, making it better able to compete for grant funding. It also faces annual bills of £15,000 for utilities and £13,000 for insurance, as well as building maintenance costs of £15,000.

A fundraiser has ben launched by the Manchester Evening News to help raise the £250,000 that the club needs to secure by the end of November to keep its doors open.

The club also intends to set up a Salford Lads and Girls Club Legacy Fund, which will be invested into a permanent trust, to help to secure its future survival.

“The more we have in the fund the greater the annual returns, helping the club to become and remain self-sustainable,” Laura Slingsby, head of youth operations at the centre, told the MEN.

“The club needs the urgent cash injection now to help close the current funding gap, as even if £1m is secured for the legacy fund now, the returns wouldn’t be generated until next year.”