- Area:
- North West England
- Programme:
- Communities Living Sustainably
- Release date:
- 6 3 2012
Communities in Liverpool, Manchester, Lower Irwell Valley and Salford, Stockport and the Eden District are today receiving funding from the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) to jump start detailed planning for more sustainable living.
Fuel poverty, rising food prices and scarce resources are just some of the issues in the sights of BIG’s Communities Living Sustainably programme, which aims to inspire people to adapt the way they live, work and connect together to reap financial, environmental and health gains.
The six projects are part of a group of 
30 across the country
- 52KB receiving up to £10,000 to work in partnership with local people, councils, schools, businesses and voluntary groups to draw up detailed plans on how their community can be greener.
Later in the year, ten of the schemes will be chosen to receive up to £1 million to deliver their ideas. The learning gained from the ten funded projects over a five year period will be shared with other communities in England to inform and influence others on how communities can become more sustainable.
Manchester International Festival receives £10,000 to develop detailed plans for a project in Wythenshawe. The group wants to improve access to locally grown food and new growing activities to help improve communities’ self sufficiency, which in turn will improve health and well-being.
Meanwhile, Reddish Vale Co-operative Trust (RVCT) in Stockport will work with partners to explore ways the community can adapt to address likely food, fuel and transport price increases - particularly on vulnerable members of the community. Ideas include reducing isolation through green transport solutions, increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives and increasing access to healthy sustainable foods.
Cumbria Action for Sustainability will use its grant to further their plans in the Eden District. The area is ranked in the top 1% sparsest areas in England and Wales - when floods, snow or gales strike, large sections of its population are cut off completely from goods and services. The project also wishes to address issues such as low levels of mains gas connectivity and long travelling distances, which all contribute fuel poverty and high levels domestic emissions.
Other groups receiving grants include: Grantox Charitable Trust Limited, which receives £9,630 for their project in Liverpool; The Broughton Trust which will use £10,000 for their work in Salford; and Groundwork Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford which receives £10,000 for their project in Harpurhey, North Manchester.
Helen Bullough, Big Lottery Fund Head of the North West region said: “We want to support local communities to make greener choices to improve their quality of life and help them to become resilient to the changing environment. The small steps being taken by these projects will have a big impact and will hopefully spark a change in behaviour that makes sustainable living second nature to us all.”
To help them achieve their goals, a partnership led by Groundwork UK and including BRE, Federation of City Farms, Energy Savings Trust and nef has been appointed to deliver support, advice and guidance to the community partnerships. They will also establish a learning support network to capture and share learning with other communities and to inform the future development of investments in BIG’s Sustainable and Resilient Communities strategy. (www.communitieslivingsustainably.org.uk)
Communities Living Sustainably is part of the Big Lottery Fund’s £50m Sustainable and Resilient Communities strategy that aims to encourage behaviour change amongst individuals and communities so they can cope better with the environmental, economic and social impacts of a changing climate. Vulnerable people, including those on low-incomes or older people, are less likely to cope with the negative effects of climate change such as floods and heat waves or severe cold weather.
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Ask BIG a question here: https://ask.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Follow BIG on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BigLotteryFund #BIGlf
Find BIG on facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFund
Notes to Editors
- The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 46% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
- BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since June 2004 BIG has awarded over £4.4bn.
- The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £27 billion has now been raised and more than 370,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
Tags