2015 Elections: Hustings

Hustings for the local and national elections in May 2015 are planned as follows:

Levenshulme Local Election

Tuesday 21st April

19.30 at the Klondyke, 1 Burnage Range

Organised by Levenshulme Community Association

Gorton South Local Election

Thursday 23rd April

19.30 at St. Peter’s Church, Stockport Road

Organised by Levenshulme Community Association

Manchester Gorton Parliamentary Election

Wednesday 29th April

19.30 at the Jain Centre, Stockport Road

Organised by Levenshulme Interfaith Group

Fred’s Comedy Club Opening Night

Fred’s Comedy Club is opening in – wait for it – Fred’s Ale House in Levenshulme.

The opening night on Wednesday 11th March at 19.30 will include appearances by Jo Enright, Cokey Falkow and Andy Kind.

Fred’s Comedy Club will run monthly.

Further details and tickets are available HERE

Cooking Project for Young People in Levenshulme and Gorton

A new cooking project has started at Levenshulme Inspire. Cook Off! is open to young people between the ages of 12-17 in Levenshulme and Gorton.

Sessions run every Tuesday from 18.00-20.00 at Levenshulme Inspire. Free entry and free food!

2015 Summer Of Lev

Yes, it is cold and wet right now but to brighten your day you can look forward to the 2015 Summer of Lev at the Klondyke on 8th August.

  • Live Bands
  • DJ Sets
  • Dance & Circus Acts
  • Games
  • Football Skills Session
  • Arts and Crafts
  • Yoga & Dance Workshops
  • Real Ale & Food Stands

A full 13 hours of fun right here in Levenshulme from 12.00-01.00. Plenty of time to get those dancing shoes ready and look forward to some summer sunshine.

Tickets

  • £10 Adults
  • £5 Children    (under 5s Free)
  • £25 Family



Levenshulme Market Fund 2015 – Shortlist Announced

A message from Helen Power about the 2015 Levenshulme Market Fund:

Applications to the fund for 2015 have now closed. We have been inundated with excellent applications and, because we got roughly twice as many as we were expecting we have had to short list the candidates.

Thankfully, we have a trusty group of independent assessors who had agreed to act as supervisors for the applications and the voting and they have very kindly worked together to produce a short list from the applicants received. The short listed applicants/projects are as follows:

  1. Byrne the Cake Brewery
  2. Decourcey Designs
  3. Indulge Dessert Café – Expansion
  4. LCDC – Craft in the Community
  5. Levenshulme Contemporary Art Centre – LCAC Shop
  6. Lily and Daisy Flower Company
  7. Love Levenshulme
  8. Samosa Shack
  9. Thairish Café – Facelift
  10. Woolly Mammoth

Further information about the voting event and the voting process are on our website HERE

Levenshulme Market Fund Public Voting On Every Application

People power comes to Levenshulme!

Levenshulme Market is providing £15,000 business funding for the people of Levenshulme. Applications have now closed but residents of Levenshulme will be able to vote on which applications are awarded funding.

This is a fantastic opportunity for open, public participation in grant funding. All applications will be considered for a public vote.

So come along to the Klondyke (1 Burange Range) between 17.00 and 21.00 on Sunday 8th March to find out about all the applications and vote for your favourites.

How marvellous to have an open, public decision making process where every vote counts and the people of Levenshulme make the decisions without any panels or experts or short lists or screening getting in the way. The process has been developed in consultation with Jez Hall, an expert in participatory decision making and Levenshulme resident.

Well done to Levenshulme Market and thanks to Helen Power, Brenda Smith and Neil Buttery (Market Directors) for coming along to the LCA Community Forum on 17th February and for Helen presenting this idea.

Come along on 8th March and make people power count. It will be lovely to see all of the ideas submitted.

Find out more on the Levenshulme Market website HERE

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FURTHER INFORMATION

(from Helen Power, Levenshulme Market Director)

“A little update on where we’re up to with the fund:

We have been blown away by the responses we received – far more than we were expecting and all from residents of Levenshulme and/or businesses based in M19. Because we got roughly twice as many as we were expecting we will have to short list the candidates, otherwise we will have to ask the residents of Levenshulme to spend pretty much a whole day and night at the voting event on 8th March! 

Thankfully, we have a trusty group of independent assessors who had agreed to act as supervisors for the applications (making sure they met all the criteria of the awards) and the voting (making sure there’s no funny business!) and they have very kindly agreed to work together to produce a short list from the applicants received.

They will be meeting tomorrow and – all being well – we will notify short listed applicants not long afterwards. 

We’re very much hoping that the short listed peeps will use the tools that social media provide to canvas for support amongst the people of Levenshulme ahead of the big vote so expect to hear more from them soon!

In the mean time, we’d just like to thank our independent assessors who represent The Kindling Trust, UnLtd, Heaton Moor Market and the North Manchester Regeneration team of MCC. “

2015 Election: TUSC Parliamentary Candidate Launch Meeting

A launch meeting for Simon Hickman who is standing as a parliamentary candidate for Manchester Gorton will be held at 19.30 on Thursday 26th February at the Klondyke (1Burnage Range).

This is an opportunity to “meet Simon Hickman and help select candidates to stand in the council elections in May”.

Simon is standing as a candidate for the Trades Union and Socialist Coalition.

Further information is available HERE

NOTE: Levenshulme Community Association does not endorse or promote any political party or political organisation. Membership of the LCA is not available to any political parties or groups. Any information provided is for information only.

What’s Going On Around The Station And Market?

If you wondered what was happening around the station and the market it is a clean up funded by the council’s Clean City fund.

This project is being led by Incredible Edible Levenshulme with Levenshulme Market Community Interest Company and other groups such as Levenshulme Youth Project. It is an interesting collaboration of groups and people across Levenshulme to improve our environment.

All sorts of things are part of the project from the mural on the container in the car park to tidying up trees and vegetation around the site, installing new planters on the A6, planting and improving the Village Green and installing trendy bike racks that double up as planters. This promises to make a big difference to the area and everyone is welcome to get involved.

A summary of the project is available on the council website HERE and a schedule of planned work has just been released (see below). A more detailed description of the project is available HERE one the Levenshulme Market website.

Bike racks to be installed on the station car park and planted with blueberry bushes.

Levenshulme Benefits From City Clean Up Funding

Levenshulme has been one of the first areas to benefit from a new fund created by Manchester City Council to deep clean the city and tidy up tatty looking areas. The new project will also include funding for community groups. The information released by the council is provided below.

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A fund of £5.5million is to be spent on a city-wide clean up programme.
The wide range of projects will improve district centres, parks and roads over the next few months, ensuring that benefits are seen as quickly as possible.

Parks and community spaces will receive £1.5million of the money, to fund works that have already been requested by friends groups and other organisations, such as cleaning war memorials, resurfacing children’s play areas, planting new flowers and low-maintenance shrubs, making improvements to existing allotments and creating new ones.

Another £1million will be spent on district centres, funding repairs to pedestrian crossings and railings, new lighting to improve visibility and deter crime as well as improvements to the appearance of run-down buildings. Parking issues will also be addressed, with updated signage, and there will also be improvements to grass verges and other open spaces.

As well as these practical projects, this funding will also help residents and businesses to organise their own community clean up campaigns, and will enable the setting up of business forums to support local traders who want to get involved too.

Over £1million will help to improve local infrastructure, renewing unsightly or rusted railings, benches and other street furniture, and replacing old litter bins with new, larger models like those recently introduced in the city centre.

Almost £500,000 will be spent on getting rid of overgrown, vacant plots and clearing waste grounds of debris across the city. There will be intensive work to clear grot-spots, roads, alleyways, and pieces of waste land across the city, which residents have complained about and, finally, in response to other concerns raised by schools, we’ll also use this funding to repaint road markings outside schools where dangerous parking is a problem.

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See the Council page HERE

Levenshulme Local History Group Meeting 10th March

The next meeting of the Levenshulme Local History Group will take place on 10th March, 14.00 at Levenshulme Inspire.

The meeting is informal and everyone is welcome.

Levenshulme Neighbourhood Forum Meeting

NOTE: The meeting venue has been changed from the library to Levenshulme Inspire on Stockport Road.

The next meeting of the Levenshulme Neighbourhood Forum will take place on Wednesday 25th February from 18.00-19.45 at Levenshulme Inspire on Stockport Road.

All the best wishes and hope to see you on Wednesday,

Maria van Elk

Agenda

1.0 Area Designation
1.1 Do a knock on doors questionnaire?
1.2 The questionnaire and the information sheet
2.0 Constitution
2.1 Objective for constitution
2.2 Constitution development
2.3 Any other information needed for constitution
3.0 Publicity
3.1 Leaflet to the designated area
3.2 Which mediums to use for publicity?
4.0 Financial and milestone 1 support finishes end of March
5.0 Any other business
6.0 Next meeting

Incredible Edible Levenshulme Bike Racks and Planters

New planters and bike racks are coming soon to the car park by the railway station where Levenshulme Market is held courtesy of Incredible Edible Levenshulme and the council’s Clean and Green Manchester project.

New Community Funding From Laing O’Rourke

A message from Laing O’Rourke

We’re delighted to invite you the launch of the Laing O’Rourke Cash4Graft funding programme which is to take place from 18.00-20.00 on Tuesday 24th February 2015 at Laing O’Rourke offices at:
3 Archway, Birley Fields, Manchester, M15 5QJ

This exciting new fund focuses on supporting residents in the south Manchester area to come together to identify projects that will benefit their community and get together to deliver those projects. The programme will support grassroots community projects in and around the Arcadia Library and Leisure Centre development scheduled to be opened next year for sums from £50 to £250 which can kickstart great initiatives that make our neighbourhoods happier, healthier and safer places to live.

Laing commitment to engaging with local communities where it delivers projects is essential to their ethos and their corporate social responsibility strategy and the launch of this programme means that they can deliver real impact at a local level. – making a difference where you live!

This strength-based approach looks at what’s strong and not what’s wrong in communities – residents coming together to develop great ideas – and support existing groups that already deliver real impact in south Manchester neighbourhoods.

Please feel free to invite fellow community groups to what promises to be
an informal event where we can talk to you about the programme, how
you can get involved and how you can apply for funding from the programme. Forever Manchester is working in partnership with Laing O’Rourke to deliver this programme.

We’d be delighted to see you there and it would be great if you could e-mail me back to let me know that you can make it.

We look forward to meeting you.

Jean Mills
Head of Business Development

Email: jean@forevermanchester.com
Web: forevermanchester.com
Twitter: @JeanieFM

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(Google Maps link HERE)

Council Budget Cuts Last Chance To Comment

Today is the deadline for comments on the council’s proposed budget. This includes significant and severe cuts to services.

Comment via the council’s website HERE

Friends of Levenshulme Station Meeting

The next meeting of Friends of Levenshulme Station will be held on Wednesday 18th March 2015, 6:30pm at Levenshulme Library, Community Room, Cromwell Grove.

Stephen Forde (our excellent guest speaker last month) sent us information on Season Ticket prices from Levenshulme/Manchester City Centre which John Bridges has now kindly displayed on our FoLS notice boards.

(Please put our FoLS AGM date of Wed 20th May, 6:30pm in Levenshulme Library Community Room, Cromwell Grove, in your diary.)

Levenshulme Inspire Community Directors Wanted

WANTED: New Community Directors

Levenshulme Inspire is currently looking for three new community representatives to sit on its Board as Company Directors and Charity Trustees.

We are looking for people who:

* Visit Inspire on a regular basis as activity organisers or participants;

* Are passionate about our local area and have ideas about how Inspire can make it better;

* Are prepared to support Inspire’s vision and values and commit to the formal responsibilities of being a company director and charity trustee (information about these things is available on request).

If you would like to be considered then please complete this form (Downloadable Word Document) and submit it at Inspire by Friday 20th February 2015 or e-mail it to ed.cox@lev-inspire.org.uk.

View information on the Inspire website HERE

LCA Community Forum – Tuesday 17/2 @ the Klondyke

The next LCA Community Forum will be held at the Klondyke next Tuesday 17th February. Doors open at 7:15. Meeting starts at 7:30.

We expect to be joined by Gary Bridges who is the Site Manager for Laing O’Rourke at the new baths and library site on Stockport Road. He will be ready to answer everybody’s questions – so please come prepared.

There will also be time for people to raise concerns of their own about things in Levenshulme.

The LCA Community Forum is a new initiative introduced by the LCA last year. These are open public meetings for everyone in Levenshulme – residents, businesses, landlords, community groups or anyone else – to find out what is going on and raise questions about our area.

Levenshulme Market Fund 2015

Levenshulme Market is awarding £15,000 worth of grants to people who want to make a difference to Levenshulme high street or to start or develop their own retail businesses.

As a social enterprise, the team behind Levenshulme Market have always been loud proponents of the idea that bad high streets don’t happen to economically healthy retail environments and that putting a market into a high street with multiple problems is not going to solve those problems overnight.

That is why, for their first ever Market Fund, they will be awarding £15,000-worth of grants to people who want to make a difference to Levenshulme high street and residents who want to start or develop their own retail businesses. Not only that, but they are asking the community to choose what they should fund.

The team are now taking applications for their “high street innovation fund” which will take applications for grants up to £5000 and are open to anyone who has a retail or high street improvement project they would like to deliver in Levenshulme and for their “market innovation fund” which is designed for Levenshulme residents who want to start or improve their own business on the market and is taking applications up to £1000.

The Market is on hiatus through the winter months but will restart on Saturday 7th March 2015 and will operate every Saturday this year until December.

The the final decisions on who will be funded by the scheme will be made by Levenshulme residents at an event being held on Sunday 8th March 2015, 5.00pm – 9.00pm, at The Klondyke Club, Burnage Range, Levenshulme, M19 2HQ.

Further information about the awards, how to enter and how to attend the voting event is available HERE

For more information please contact Helen Power, Director, Levenshulme Market CIC:
T: 07853 266 598
E: info@levymarket.co.uk
W: www.levymarket.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/levymarket
Twitter: @levymarket

Incredible Edible Levenshulme Tidy Up & Litter Pick

Please join us on Sunday (15th Feb) to continue our work preparing the woodland area at Levenshulme Market. We’ll also be doing a litter pick.

Meet 10am on Sunday at the container in the train station car park. Please wear wellies and bring gardening tools.

Hope to see you there.

Incredible Edible Levenshulme
Growing a greener, cleaner, healthier Levenshulme!

Daniel Pitts Art Exhibition at Fred’s Ale House

You may remember Daniel Pitts from a post we did last year about his portraits of Corrie stars. Well we hear that you’ll be able to see Daniel’s art up close and personal at Fred’s Ale House in a future exhibition.

We’ll provide an update when we have further details but this is something to look forward to celebrating a talented Levenshulme artist.

Daniel’s website is HERE

How to report dumped rubbish and litter

You can report dumped rubbish or littering to Manchester City Council on this phone number:

0161 954 9000

Or via the council’s website HERE