Salford’s model for Live Well Centres and Spaces has emerged through a highly collaborative VCSE-led process, developed over months of partnership meetings, neighbourhood consultation, and negotiation with Salford City Council, NHS GM and GMCA. The approach reflects a shared commitment to ensure Live Well is rooted in community power, not imposed from above.
VCSE Live Well Partnership meeting
The journey began in June 2025, when Salford CVS convened the first VCSE Live Well Partnership meeting to establish a local vision aligned to GM’s ambition for “everyday support, for everyone, in every neighbourhood”. Early discussions highlighted key principles for Salford: build on what already works, avoid duplicating existing community hubs, ensure a no wrong front door approach, and invest in trusted spaces across all neighbourhoods.
Throughout summer 2025 partners shaped what Centres and Spaces should be, not just where they should sit. Centres must be places offering trusted, person-centred support that works closely with public services but does not replace them. Spaces were understood as thematic, targeted or identity-focused venues with established community trust. Partners insisted that neither Centres nor Spaces should simply replicate public services. They must strengthen community-led prevention, belonging and social connection.
Salford’s partnership also defined how decisions should be made. Members repeatedly pushed for transparent criteria, community voice, political support at ward level and due diligence that would not exclude smaller organisations. Concerns about sustainability and the limited funding window shaped a clear preference for a top up approach, enabling existing VCSE organisations to grow their offer rather than creating entirely new models.
Centres and Spaces Implementation
An independent bidding process for Live Well Centres and Spaces was launched in October 2025. The opportunity was open to all VCSE organisations within the Salford CVS Live Well Partnership.
We received eight applications, and following an independent panel scoring process, funding was awarded as follows:
CommUnity Little Hulton – Flagship Live Well Centre
The Broughton Trust – VCSE Live Well Space
Age UK Salford and Trafford (Critchley Hub) – VCSE Live Well Space
Emmaus Salford – VCSE Live Well Space
What has emerged is a uniquely Salford approach, grounded in partnership, shaped by community feedback, and designed to strengthen the VCSE sector’s long-term role in prevention, belonging and everyday support across all neighbourhoods.
10GM Lottery Application – Spaces of Hope and Connection
10GM is a joint venture to support the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector in Greater Manchester. The founding members are Action Together, Bolton CVS, Macc, and Salford CVS. 10GM is a company jointly owned by these bodies, run on cooperative principles locked into our governance by a Collaboration Agreement and with the CEO of each partner as a Director of the company. The partners work strategically and collaboratively with a shared purpose to champion local voluntary and community action and social enterprise across the city region to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of Greater Manchester’s people and communities.
10GM invited the National Lottery Community Fund to grow their role as a strategic partner and co-invest in the infrastructure, relationships and capacity needed to grow real community power by nurturing Spaces of Hope and Connection — community-led, trusted places that serve as foundations for social connection, support, and sustainable community action. The National Lottery Community Fund accepted this invitation and invited 10GM to submit an expression of interest to their National Programme. The request from 10GM is for a £16.5m Greater Manchester programme over four years, which is integral to GM’s ambition to Live Well. The main proposals are:-
- To grow social capital – working directly with people and organisations to grow skills, confidence and capability across Greater Manchester by investing in community leadership, trusted relationships and collective action.
- To strengthen social infrastructure – investing in new and existing spaces and organisations at the heart of community life, ensuring that they are inclusive, safe and sustainable. This will include both physical community spaces (buildings, hubs, parks, green spaces) and the wider network of stakeholders that sustain them. Live Well | Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership
- To grow regional and national partnerships for learning and influence – by positioning Greater Manchester as a learning region for community-led prevention.
The Stage 2 expression of interest has been submitted by 10GM and we are awaiting the outcome.