£46.5 million investment boost for Greater Manchester plans for community led approach to addressing health and economic inequalities

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and The National Lottery Community Fund have announced a £46.5 million investment in the city region’s Live Well approach to support across jobs, health, housing, debt, food, family and social connection.

Live Well is Greater Manchester’s transformative approach to developing everyday support in every neighbourhood, and brings together communities, residents, the voluntary sector and public services together to reduce health, social and economic inequalities and enable people to thrive across the city-region.

Backed by £16.5 million from The National Lottery Community Fund, the latest investment will grow more than 100 Live Well community spaces across Greater Manchester. Partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund will strengthen the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations’ ability to support Live Well and builds on an initial £1 million of National Lottery funding which helped kick start Live Well in Greater Manchester.

In addition, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and NHS GM are committing a further £30 million to expand Live Well everyday support, through centres, spaces and offers across city region over the next three years. A further £1 million has been committed from Greater Manchester Combined Authority and NHS GM into a Live Well Communities Fund for grassroots organisations to get involved over the next two years.

The latest funding recognises Greater Manchester’s national leadership in community-powered approaches and its ambition to reshape how places, people and services work together to help enable residents to thrive.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:

“We are hugely grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund for backing this work and helping us accelerate the growth of Live Well across Greater Manchester.

“We’re now expanding Live Well spaces across our city region, working with communities to create welcoming, practical and visible places where people can find connection, advice and support.

“And today [12th March] we’re committing further investment to grow Live Well in every borough so it becomes a familiar, trusted offer for residents. This is how we build a fairer, more inclusive Greater Manchester where everyone can get the support they need and no one and no place is left behind.”

The latest funding announcement also coincides with the Live Well Spring Festival taking place across the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester until March 23, bringing together more than 250 community-led events and ideas, reflecting the energy, creativity and diversity of Live Well in action.

Dame Julia Cleverdon, Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, said:

“We’re delighted to invest £16.5 million of truly life-changing funding into this project. So often people talk about ‘joined-up working’, ‘systems change’, ‘taking a holistic approach’. Live Well does all those things. Bringing together the support. The services. The opportunities. The money. The efforts. And reimaging them. Shifting them to serve people better. To help people not just survive, but to thrive. To foster the conditions for a happier, healthier society. To create not just pockets of goodness but a movement for change. Because ultimately what we do here in Greater Manchester can be a blueprint for the rest of the country.”

Liz Windsor-Welsh, Director of 10GM, a joint venture established to support the VCFSE sector across the city-region, said:

“We’re thrilled to have secured this major investment in Greater Manchester’s VCFSE sector. Across our 10 boroughs, there are already hundreds of spaces of hope and connection. They’re the lifeblood of our sector. But many are underfunded, overstretched and held up by just a few dedicated individuals fighting to keep the lights on. These leaders often face immense pressure, driven by a deep sense of responsibility to their communities. And too many people facing the most significant inequalities still do not have communal spaces to call their own.

“This investment will help us change that. Prioritising the communities facing the greatest inequalities, it builds on the leadership and creativity already rooted in local communities. It will help strengthen social infrastructure and put real power, resources and decision-making into local hands.

“Powered by the Live Well movement, we’ll work with our VCFSE organisations, public services, and residents to share power, change systems and shape healthier, fairer, more connected places, so that everyone can live a better life.”