£20m Pride in Place Fund: Why Breightmet’s Young People Must Be at the Heart of Change
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Breightmet, one of Europe’s biggest council estates, faces high levels of child poverty, abandoned schools, and limited safe spaces. With a £20m Pride in Place investment on the table, young voices must lead the way to meaningful change.
A £20m Opportunity for Breightmet
Breightmet is often described as one of Europe’s largest council estates, and like many similar communities, it has long been associated with deprivation, poverty, and neglect. Now, with the announcement of a £20 million Pride in Place fund for Breightmet, there is a unique opportunity to change the story.
But the real question is: who will shape this future? At Genuine Futures CIC, we believe the answer is clear — it must be the young people of Breightmet and Bolton. Their voices, their experiences, and their ideas must sit at the heart of decisions if this investment is to have a lasting impact.
The Challenges Facing Young People in Breightmet
Walking through the area, the challenges are visible. Abandoned schools stand as reminders of services once available but now stripped away. Young people told us they feel left with “nothing for us” and “nowhere safe to go.”
The statistics back up their lived reality:
- Around one in three children in Bolton lives in poverty — in Breightmet, this rate is even higher.
- Bolton ranks in the top 20% of most deprived local authority areas in England.
- Many families here experience food insecurity and low income, creating barriers for children’s education and well-being.
- An estimated 46,000 young people across the UK are caught up in County Lines exploitation, with communities like Breightmet particularly vulnerable when opportunity is scarce.
And the voices of young people cut through with clarity:
- “We see abandoned schools everywhere — why can’t they be turned into something for us?”
- “We need more parks and spaces. Families are growing, but there’s nowhere to go.”
- “Something for us — somewhere safe, where we belong.”
They are not asking for luxuries. They are asking for what many other communities take for granted: safety, belonging, and opportunity.
A Personal Connection: Sam’s Story
For our Co-Founder, Sam Smith, this work is deeply personal. As a teenager, Sam once sofa-surfed across Breightmet, homeless and searching for stability. He knows the streets, the estates, and the feeling of being overlooked.
Reflecting on his recent visit, Sam said:
“Walking through Breightmet today brought back a lot of memories of my own struggles here. I know what it feels like to be lost, to not have a safe place to call home. That’s why it’s so important that young people now don’t feel written off like I once did. This community deserves better — and its young people deserve to be heard.”
Sam’s lived experience underlines why the Young Futures Hub in Bolton and projects like We Shine Any Car exist today — to ensure no young person feels as forgotten as he once did.
Youth Social Action: Meeting Young People Where They Are
At Genuine Futures, we believe youth empowerment in Bolton starts with listening to youth voices. That’s why we went into Breightmet, meeting young people on the streets, where they gather, and where they feel most at home.
We heard about:
- Abandoned schools that feel like symbols of lost opportunity.
- A lack of parks and safe spaces for growing families.
- The need for more community-based opportunities.
This is the essence of youth social action: giving young people the chance to lead conversations, set priorities, and take action.
Enterprise and Empowerment: A Model That Works
At the Young Futures Hub Bolton, young people are already proving what’s possible.
Take We Shine Any Car, our youth-led enterprise car wash based at The Scrappers. It is much more than a car wash:
- It provides practical skills in teamwork, customer service, and responsibility.
- It shows how an enterprise can be a pathway out of disadvantage.
- It builds confidence, belonging, and pride.
- It demonstrates to the wider community that young people are assets, not problems.
We’ve seen similar success with our Boss Your Future programme, where NEET young people (Not in Education, Employment or Training) gain coaching, employability training, and enterprise skills. Already, participants are moving into college education, starting businesses, and gaining qualifications.
Pride in Place: What Needs to Happen
The £20m Pride in Place Breightmet fund is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. But to succeed, it must:
- Put youth voice and leadership at the centre – young people must help shape spending decisions.
- Invest in safe spaces for young people – parks, hubs, and creative spaces for families.
- Repurpose abandoned schools – transforming them into spaces that inspire hope instead of despair.
- Support youth-led enterprise – projects like We Shine Any Car prove how enterprise changes lives.
- Address child poverty and mental health – tackling isolation and hopelessness alongside skills.
- Leave a legacy – funding must create long-term pathways, not short-term fixes.
Building Pathways: Genuine Futures in Action
Our programmes are already making an impact across Bolton and Greater Manchester:
- Boss Your Future – for 15–24-year-olds (and up to 25 with SEND), combining coaching, digital skills, and enterprise.
- Restore Young Futures – in schools with ages 12–15, using motivational talks and early interventions.
- Young Futures Hub – an open-door policy space where any young person can return for support, connection, and opportunity.
- We Shine Any Car – a youth-led social enterprise car wash in Bolton, turning every car cleaned into a chance for a young person to shine.
These are real-world, community-based solutions that show what the Pride in Place fund could achieve if young people are trusted to lead.
The Call to Action
Breightmet’s future cannot be decided without Breightmet’s young people. The Pride in Place fund is a chance to show that young people in Bolton are not a problem to be fixed, but a solution to be unlocked.
At Genuine Futures, we are proving that when you invest in youth voice, youth leadership, and youth-led enterprise, the results are transformational.
That’s why we are now recruiting for our next Boss Your Future Bolton programme (ages 15–24, and up to 25 with SEND). This fully funded programme builds confidence, skills, and pathways into education, employment, or enterprise.
Register today: https://forms.gle/j8GsS9y2dXST
When Young People Shine, Communities Shine
Breightmet has always been a place of resilience and potential. The £20m Pride in Place Breightmet fund could be the spark that unlocks a brighter future — but only if young people are at its heart.
At Genuine Futures, our message is simple: when young people shine, communities shine.
Breightmet’s young people are ready to be heard, ready to lead, and ready to create a future worth fighting for.
The question is: will we listen? 