Swinton Social Impact Guide

Listening. Designing. Delivering.

The Swinton Social Impact Guide is a blueprint for creating meaningful, lasting benefits through regeneration. Developed with community partners in Swinton and Salford, this guide helps developers and investors embed social value into every stage of the development lifecycle from planning, all the way through to occupation.

Why social value matters

Social value goes beyond financial returns. It’s about improving lives, reducing inequalities, and fostering inclusive growth. Salford is a national leader in social value, requiring all major developments to submit a social value strategy at planning stage. This guide shows how to meet those requirements while making a real difference in Swinton.

About Swinton

Swinton is a commuter hub with rich heritage, excellent transport links, green spaces and strong community networks. Despite these strengths, challenges remain — with pockets of deprivation, health inequalities and declining town centre footfall. When development opportunities come forward in the Swinton area, developers and investors need to understand and engage local communities so that what they build delivers employment and training opportunities, sustainability, and builds on community strengths and resilience and this guide has identified some of the ways to do this, based on conversations with communities.

Our approach 

• Listen and engage: We’ve worked to understand local needs through authentic community engagement.
• Co-design solutions: We’ve worked with residents, VCFSEs, and stakeholders to create initiatives that matter.
• Embed social value: We’ve identified ways that can integrate impact across design, construction, and operation.
• Measure and share: Monitor progress, celebrate successes, and continuously improve.

Key themes for action

Aligned with Salford’s corporate plan, 'This is Our Salford,' the guide highlights opportunities under seven priorities:

• Good growth: Jobs, skills, and inclusive economic development.
• A good home for all: Affordable housing and homelessness prevention.
• Tackling poverty and inequality: Financial resilience and food security.
• Creating places where people want to live: Safe, connected, and vibrant communities.
• A Child-Friendly Salford: Education, youth engagement, and wellbeing.
• Responding to climate change: Net-zero initiatives and green spaces.
• Healthy lives and quality care: Mental health, fitness, and preventive care focused on well-being.

How you can get involved

By exploring in the guides practical ideas, local partnerships, and best practice methodologies to deliver social impact in Swinton, you can identify your plan for creating social value and impact in Swinton. Together, we can build a fairer, greener, healthier and more inclusive Salford for all.

You can find out more about social value and impact in Salford.