Greater Manchester secures Defra funding to help restore nature across the city-region

Greater Manchester has secured a £250,000 funding allocation from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to deliver its plans to help nature recover across the city-region.

Funding will allow the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to develop its Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) over the next two years following the conclusion of a successful pilot plan in 2021.

The new LNRS will outline how to ensure fairer access to green spaces for people across the city-region, identifying areas already important for nature and people making for more liveable communities.

The new LNRS follows the city-region declaring a biodiversity emergency in March 2022, highlighting the need for more to be done to support the recovery of nature both locally and nationally. While a number initiatives to increase nature recovery in Greater Manchester are already underway, the LNRS will accelerate this progress and integrate the enhancement of nature into the city-region’s approach to regeneration, development, infrastructure and the delivery of public services.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:

“With our ambitious target of making Greater Manchester carbon neutral by 2038, it is increasingly clear that we need a step change in action to improve the natural environment.

“Our Local Nature Recovery Strategy will set out our vision for a greener Greater Manchester, where space for nature to flourish is grown and enhanced, more people can access and enjoy the natural environment, and the many benefits nature brings are increased – from supporting mental and physical wellbeing to creating leisure space and supporting biodiversity.

“I hope everyone in the city-region – from businesses and developers to community groups and individuals – will find ways to support and act on the strategy as it develops over the next 12 months, helping us shape the future of our natural environment and a greener Greater Manchester.”

The announcement of funding for Greater Manchester’s plan comes as part of a national ambition to create a National Nature Recovery Network: a country-wide chain of wildlife-rich places.