Manchester City Council confirms £200m funding package to help tackle climate change

Projects in the English city include a new 6.5acre park, civic heating network, and fleet of electric utility vehicles.

In total, £192m has been committed by Manchester City Council to help transition to carbon zero, which the administration aims to achieve by 2038. 

The figure has been confirmed as part of a new series of reports prepared ahead of the 2022-23 budget being set. Funding includes £76.4m from the Council itself, £65m from central government, £41m from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, £4.3m of European Union legacy money, £4.3m from partner organisations, and £1.1m from the Manchester Climate Change Agency. 

Many of the projects feature in Manchester City Council’s Climate Change Action Plan, which stipulates halving direct emissions within the next three years. Efforts include replacing the city’s 56,000 street lights with greener LED alternatives, and swapping old bin lorries for electric models.

The completion of the Civic Quarter Heat Network is also a major aspect. Iconic buildings such as Manchester Town Hall and Extension, Central Library, Manchester Central Convention Centre, Heron House and The Bridgewater Hall are switching to a low-emission power source, the Tower of Light, nicknamed Sagradia Mancunia due to its perceived visual similarities to Salvador Dali’s Sagrada Familia. A number of other council buildings are also seeing carbon footprints reduced through solar and ground-air source heat pumps. 

More visible signs of investment are evident across town, at the 6.5acre Mayfield Park – the first green space built in Manchester city centre for 100 years expected to complete later in 2022. A £1m Tree Action MCR programme is also underway, planting thousands of trees across the city. Meanwhile, cycling and walking provision is being transformed via major active travel routes across the area. 

‘The multiple projects which are being brought forward are resulting in real reductions to the Council’s emissions – we are on track to meet our initial target of halving our direct emissions by 2025. But, more importantly, they are also creating real health and lifestyle benefits for Manchester people, for instance through more green spaces and making it easier to choose greener, healthier transport options,’ said Cllr Tracey Rawlins, Executive Member for the Environment for Manchester City Council. 

In related news, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan recently set out plans to retrofit buildings in the UK capital, making them more energy efficient.

Image credit: Mylo Kaye