Supporter Spotlight – Chris Belsham, CEO of NWF

Chris Belsham, CEO of NWF Group plc, talks to us about why he’s proud to be supporting Crewe’s Youth Zone, The Dome, which is opening in 2026. NWF is a big employer in the area and provides services in three different areas: Bulk fuel distribution, food distribution and the manufacture and distribution of animal feed. Here we find out why he thinks supporting young people can change the future of an entire community and provide the opportunities local young people deserve.

There are several reasons why supporting The Dome Youth Zone was an easy decision for me. NWF has a significant workforce based in Crewe, which means that we have a strong connection to the area and a determination to help it thrive. It’s an area that is struggling financially, and we think that one way to help it flourish is by supporting its young people. From my perspective, supporting young people locally gives you the opportunity to create tangible impact. When looking at child poverty nationally, it feels hopeless, you ask yourself ‘What can I do?’.  But if you scale it down to the question of ‘Can I help, make a difference to young people in Crewe?’ – by supporting something like The Dome – it’s easier to answer it with a yes. It becomes more manageable and realistic, and you’re able to see the difference you can make in real time.

Connecting with the local community is really important to NWF, and supporting The Dome sends a clear message that we’re a local business that genuinely cares. We’re showing our customers that we want to make a difference to the area – and to their children’s lives. It also shows young people growing up in Crewe that we care about them and their future; these are the young people that could be our employees one day. In my opinion, supporting a Youth Zone is a no brainer for businesses that can; it benefits young people, your organisation, and the wider community.

As well as wanting to support The Dome as NWF’s CEO, I also want to as a person who has experienced the powerful impact of youth work first hand. My dad was involved in social work and ran youth clubs in deprived areas of Leeds, and I’d often join him when he was working. Going there helped me understand that other people were living very different lives to me; it opened my eyes. I think a lot has changed for young people since then, and there’s been a big decrease in opportunities and safe spaces for those who live in deprived areas. This is why The Dome will make such an impact.

Not long ago I visited Warrington Youth Zone, and I was so impressed by how professional it was and how great it looked; I was expecting it to look like the youth clubs my dad used to run – needless to say, it didn’t! Its professionalism and positive environment are really important, because it’s saying to young people, we value you, we believe in you and we’re investing in you. I was also struck by the thought that had gone into its design. It was clear it was built prioritising how it would feel to be a young person in that environment. The Dome is going a step further and is running a special project which focuses on the design of spaces, specifically with young women in mind; this is something I’m particularly supportive of as I have three daughters.

Visiting Warrington Youth Zone showed me the real commitment Youth Zones make in placing young people and their viewpoints at the heart of all that it does. It was clear that commitment ran into the youth workers’ dynamic with the young people. They had such a great rapport and clearly took a lot of care in building those important relationships.

It’s real-life interactions like these that are so essential for young people right now. It’s hard being a young person today; they spend so much time at home on their phones, and don’t have much choice but to exist through their screens. Their lives are becoming narrower and narrower, so welcoming them into an environment like a Youth Zone, where they have to be social with others, is giving them the opportunity to connect beyond their screens.

I think the idea of young people looking beyond what they know, leads on to the bigger point of aspiration. The Dome and other Youth Zones provide young people with the opportunity to try new things and aspire to grow their skills. I think it is so important for them to be able to realise that there is a wider world out there and that there’s opportunity beyond the familiar school set up. If you don’t know something exists, then you can’t try it out. This is where The Dome comes in and asks, ‘how do we broaden horizons, broaden aspirations, allow people to experience things?’ – the more you experience in life the more successful you’ll be.

It’s obviously a truism that young people are the future, but it’s something that needs to be taken seriously. I think it’s incredible that education has hardly featured as an important issue in any recent general election, and that is absolutely ridiculous. If we as a country are going to succeed – and if a company is going to succeed in the long term – then we have to shift our mindsets and properly invest in all our young people. In terms of how NWF can help – that’s by supporting the young people of Crewe and the surrounding areas to go on to live the lovely, healthy, happy lives they deserve.