Almost £400,000 has been awarded across 21 community schemes throughout Greater Manchester – all of which will improve or create local green spaces.
It has now been confirmed that there are 21 successful projects – at least one in each of the ten Greater Manchester boroughs – from Round One of the Green Spaces Fund. The community projects – which aim to increase the amount and quality of accessible, nature-rich green space – were announced at the Greater Manchester Green Summit on 17 October 2022 by Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.
Successful bids range from community and sensory gardens, tree planting schemes, food growing projects and more, including:
The Together Kitchen Garden, in Tameside, has been granted £7,475. This funding will be used to help create an allotment and green space where children can take part in ecotherapy whilst exploring and supporting their natural environment. The produce harvested by them will then be placed within a pantry where families can collect a free fresh food parcel weekly.
The City of Trees scheme, in Walkden, has been granted £40,000 which will help the local community to green Walkden Road by introducing street trees, as sustainable drainage systems, with integrated rain gardens. This is a key route for those travelling to Walkden Town Centre, Walkden Train Station and the RHS Bridgewater.
The Leigh Community Garden has been awarded £2,336. This will create a green space in a deprived area of Leigh where locals accessing nearby support services including the homeless shelter and addiction support can come to reflect, relax and learn new skills including planting and maintaining a garden filled with plants and vegetables all year round.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “I’m so pleased at the wide range of schemes we’ve been able to support through the first round of the Green Spaces Fund. It’s also great to see every Greater Manchester borough benefit in some way.
“Everyone should have access to some kind of green space, whether it’s a place to grow fresh food, plant trees, meet new people, learn new skills or simply enjoy being close to nature. I’m really proud to see local people taking ownership of such fantastic projects that add value to their community and the environment and that’s what the Green Spaces Fund is all about.
“We’ll soon launch the second round of funding and I encourage anyone who wants to develop or improve a green space in their community to apply.”
It is not too late to apply for funding through the Green Spaces Fund, with round 2 opening on 31 October. There are two types of grants available: grants up to £10,000 and grants between £10,000 and £40,000.
