Chorlton has received the good news that more than £200,000 in National Lottery funding is going to the Chorlton Climate Action Partnership to work with communities across the city to take action and tackle climate change.
The grant from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, will see The Chorlton Climate Action Partnership formed, led by WalkRideGM alongside local charity Groundwork GM. The partnership will help Chorlton reduce its carbon emissions, have cleaner air and increase the use and accessibility of sustainable transport.
Across Greater Manchester the second largest source of carbon emissions is transport[1], but the average car journey in the city region is just 5km.[2] Thanks to National Lottery players, WalkRideGM and Groundwork GM will work with local community groups to help make these short journeys possible by 20-minute bike rides.
With the Chorlton Cycleway due to be finished next year, this new partnership and local activity will complement work already happening in the area, all aiming to reduce carbon emissions and air pollution and help the city region move towards a car-free future. The project will not only help the local environment, but will also see additional community benefits, including new employment opportunities and cleaner and safer travel around the city region for people and families. Today’s announcement follows Groundwork UK publishing its new three-year strategy[3] earlier this month, aiming to mobilise 75,000 days of voluntary action to address the climate emergency.
Claire Stocks, Walk Ride Greater Manchester co-founder and Chorlton resident, said: “Making it safer and easier to walk around Chorlton has become an even bigger priority for our community since Covid19 – especially for people to get to our brilliant local shops or other amenities, and, from September, for children to be able to walk or cycle to school. The National Lottery funding will enable our community to work with three fantastic expert partners to design solutions to our traffic problems – which will mean big benefits for our community, but also our planet.”
Michaela Howell, Head of Communities, Groundwork GM, said: “Through the Climate Action Fund grant, we’re looking forward to working with people who live and work in Chorlton, building a greener, healthier Chorlton with them by drawing on our successful track record in engaging communities in improving and greening neighbourhoods and using nature based solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change.”
Eve Holt, Chorlton councillor, said: “This is just the catalyst we need as we seek to #BuildBackBetter for all in Chorlton, rethinking the way we live, work and get around. This National Lottery funding enables us to unlock the potential for sustained change by building a strong, inclusive partnership between residents, traders, schools, community and faith groups, the council and the health sector. Together, we will co-design the way forward, stepping up to our responsibility to protect the planet, and to realise our shared vision of a greener, safer, fairer and more connected place, where people of all ages and backgrounds can live healthy, active lives.”
Open Data Manchester, and active travel advocates, Sustrans, will also be part of the partnership; gathering people’s views and date on local travel and pollution. This will be followed by three pilot projects, based on people’s views and designed to get people moving – by foot, wheelchair and bike. One project will aim to bring more shoppers to a local high street, one will work with families to debut a safer and more environmentally-friendly school run and one will be designed for environmental improvements to a residential street.
This grant is one of the first fourteen grants to be announced as part of the National Lottery-funded Climate Action Fund, a ten-year £100 million fund that will reduce the carbon footprint of communities demonstrating what is possible when people take the lead in tackling climate change. All the projects across the UK will work together, share their learning and be active participants in a broader movement of change within and beyond these communities.
