“At long last”
Moston and Harpurhey will benefit from the cash(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Manchester council has made a £80m promise to give residents in four areas of the city something they are ‘crying out for’.
Town hall bosses were buoyed by the government’s decision to award four neighbourhoods £20 million each to improve the area.
Benchill South & Wythenshawe Central, Harpurhey South & Monsall, Clayton Vale, and Gorton South are the neighbourhoods set to benefit over the next decade.
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Now, councillors across the political spectrum in Manchester have pledged ‘every pound of this funding will be guided by the voices of local residents’
“[It will] not be imposed on local community, but built with them,” Labour Coun John Hughes added.
Coun Astrid Johnson, Manchester Greens’ leader, welcomed the decision to put power in people’s hands on how to spend the cash.
“This is what people are crying out for: Autonomy. To give residents the opportunity to shape their neighbourhood and address their needs is what I really like about this,” she said.
And Coun Emma Taylor called on chiefs to get on with the job: “At long last local people have certainty and control for their area. This will be led by the people who know their areas best.
“I am impatient to deliver change. Let’s get those community conversations [going] as soon as possible to bring out residents on board and deliver those changes that will be felt for generations to come.”
Previously, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said money could be used to revive high streets, improve parks, and breathe new life into public spaces. Residents will also soon gain powers ‘to seize boarded-up shops and block nuisance businesses’.
The PM said: “This is a huge investment, but what matters most is who decides how it’s spent: the neighbours, volunteers and parents who know their communities best – the people with real skin in the game.”