About the M13 Area

The M13 Youth Project roughly covers the M13 postal districts of Brunswick, Ardwick, Longsight and Victoria Park. The area borders the city centre to the north, and lies between two major arterial routes to the city, with Ardwick to the East, and Moss Side, Hulme and the University to the West.

Young people in the M13 area come from diverse ethnic, cultural, national, religious and economic backgrounds. They live in communities facing numerous pressures and high levels of social disadvantage. These pressures include; high crime rates, poverty, unemployment (nearly 30%), poor housing (although the area is undergoing regeneration work), poor educational resources at secondary level, and a high incidence of alcohol, drug and solvent abuse. There is often a lack of resources to deal adequately with these pressures.

The area has seen a number of fatal shootings over recent years, mostly of young men involved in gangs and gun violence. This is a serious issue and the focus of much police, housing and council funding and strategies. There is a growing community movement to combat the gun violence and to seek to address the inequalities which can prompt young people to resort to criminal activity to earn money.


Over 70% of housing is council stock, with some housing association stock, some rented housing from private landlords and some privately owned housing, two direct access hostels, various DSS hostels and houses, and some student residences.

In the Ardwick area, 20% of households have a member with a long-term limiting illness requiring care and support and rendering them unable to work. They are often cared for by young people.

Unemployment is currently nearly 30%. A high proportion of those employed are in part-time or temporary work. Unemployment amongst 16-19 year olds is as high as 50%, with little prospect of long term employment or access to training.

25% of residents were born outside the UK (8% of residents born in Pakistan and many born in Ireland). Nearly 40% of residents are from non-white ethnic groups, predominantly African, Caribbean, Chinese and Asian. This is noteworthy in that people of Black and Asian ethnic backgrounds, especially young people, may face forms of discrimination.

There is no one Secondary school that serves the young people of this community - generally young people attend one of six schools within Manchester. The education system fails to meet the needs of a growing number of young people, particularly young men and those for whom English is a second language. Generally, educational attainment is not high, which frequently limits future job opportunities. There is a Schools Otherwise project located within the M13 area and various mentoring projects which work within the schools.

The area has very few amenities for local young people, but plenty for the local university students, which is often a source of tension. Local youth are unable to access resources in the nearby city-centre due to lack of finances and qualification.