Blackpool, Liverpool City Region, Salford and Manchester received a funding boost today of £2.6m in total, to help ensure people living in their areas can enjoy nature and green spaces, close to home.
They are amongst 40 towns and cities receiving a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of a new mission announced today.
Nature Towns and Cities is a coalition of organisations united by the ambition to enable millions more people to experience nature in their daily lives, particularly those places and communities currently lacking access to quality green space.
The first of its kind, this new programme announced by Natural England, National Trust and The National Lottery Heritage Fund aims to help at least 100 places across the UK to become greener, healthier, happier places for people to live and work.
Kickstarting the programme, forty towns and cities across 19 partnerships will receive grants from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, from Portsmouth to Bradford in England, to Fife in Scotland, Torfaen in Wales, and Belfast in Northern Ireland.
Salford and Manchester are working together to create an interconnected network of green and blue spaces—linking parks, urban waterways, and industrial heritage sites into vibrant corridors that enhance biodiversity while improving residents’ quality of life.
The project will establish a dynamic Community Forum where local groups can share knowledge, while expanding the successful Growing Manchester Programme to support its 150 community groups with advanced sustainability courses and accredited training opportunities. Through partnerships with organisations like the Royal Horticultural Society, Groundwork, City of Trees, and the Canal and Rivers Trust, residents will gain the skills and confidence to lead the transformation of their own neighbourhoods, creating a more resilient, community-led approach to urban greening.
The Project supports delivery of ambitions identified in Manchester’s Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy; Our Rivers Our City; and the emerging City Centre Movement Plan.
Councillor Barbara Bentham, Lead Member for Neighbourhoods, Environment and Community Safety at Salford City Council said: “Salford is a city of firsts. We had the first public park, library and gas street lighting. I am proud that we continue to move forward and are leading this project to connect green spaces and waterways across the two great cities. The whole aim is to transform the area so local people can get outside and enjoy spending time in nature.
“This funding gives us a fantastic opportunity to work closely with local groups to bring parks, canals, rivers and neighbourhoods to life. We’ll help volunteers build new skills and work with some great organisations such as the RHS and City of Trees to make a real difference to green spaces and waterways across our city.”
Leader of Manchester City Council Cllr Bev Craig said: “Manchester has a proud industrial heritage, and whilst we have over 150 parks and green spaces, we have an ambitious and exciting plan to make our city centre greener and connect our rivers and canals. We’ve opened new parks. Creating new green spaces, revitalising unloved ones and improving connections between them is fundamentally important to shaping a liveable and nature-rich Manchester.
“This support from Nature Towns and Cities will help us increase quality and quantity of green spaces and waterways across the city for residents to enjoy. We will be making even more exciting announcements in the months to come around what this means for the city.”
Blackpool’s Greenwave project comes as the town undergoes significant regeneration, giving an opportunity to integrate green infrastructure into new developments. These will form part of a comprehensive strategy to improve existing green spaces, and create a connected network of multifunctional spaces across the town.
Liverpool City Region’s project will span the entire Combined Authority, and focusing on areas with less access to nature and higher rates of health and economic deprivation. The project will transform underused urban spaces into thriving community gardens, edible landscapes, and wildlife habitats, involving communities in the design and long term care of these.
As well as the grants announced today, the programme has also awarded Birmingham, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole as the UK’s first Nature Towns and Nature Cities, recognising their ambition and commitment for nature and communities. It’s hoped that the funding boost for Blackpool, Liverpool City Region, Salford and Manchester will help them to follow suit, working towards the Nature Town or Nature City status.
Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive, The National Lottery Heritage Fund said,
“I am delighted to announce an investment of £15 million which will help 40 towns and cities across the UK better plan their urban nature recovery, connecting people and communities to their natural environment in the places they live. We have invested over £1bn in regenerating over 900 urban parks and green spaces over the last 30 years, helping nature thrive in towns everywhere – and this exciting initiative, working with partners right across the UK, will continue to build on this investment and give millions of people better access to nature close to home.’
Marian Spain, Chief Executive, Natural England said: “Nature helps us to improve our mental and physical wellbeing, mitigate the impacts of climate change and drive green growth through the creation of spaces for people to connect with nature, making better places for people to live, work and invest.
“Yet for millions of people in urban areas there is no green space within a 15-minute walk of their home. Natural England research shows the stark inequalities of access to nature for people in disadvantaged urban communities. We are proud to be part of the Nature Towns and Cities project, helping millions of people enjoy nature and inspire communities to take part in nature recovery.”
