Another Active Neighbourhood Consultation On New £7 million Plans

Manchester City Council has announced today that there will be another consultation on final plans for the Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood scheme. This follows the release of three sets of “final plans” over a year ago and one “final consultation”. The news release says:

“A consultation will soon take place on a proposal to include an additional crossing on the A6, expanding the provision of high-quality and safer walking and cycling routes, with the intention being that local people are better connected by safer walking, wheeling, and cycling routes with local shops and facilities.”

MCC news release, 12 july 2023

This would be helpful after well over a year of silence on the scheme from the council and councillors. The only works undertaken so far have been in Burnage Ward on Errwood Road and the installation of the permanent versions of the 14 modal filters / road blocks across Levenshulme Ward. Sadly the filters do not include any trees in the concrete blocks as was originally promised. There is still no news on the proposed modal filters / road blocks on Linden Park and Milwain Road.

The council says the latest “final plans” will cost £7 million:

“The cost, estimated at £7m in total, is likely to be split between MCC and GMCA. The proposed solution will allow the successful delivery of this project as part of the Bee Network in the local area as well as allowing specific Council-led design choices that respond to public consultation feedback.”

MCC news release, 12 july 2023

This is over 300% more than the original budget of £2.3 million. In 2022 Levenshulme councillor Basat Sheikh said the cost for the scheme had increased to £4.6 million. The vast majority of the funding was originally from the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Challenge Fund using money provided by the government and included a contribution from Manchester City Council of £100,000. The council has not said how much of the new proposed £7 million cost will come from Manchester City Council.

The original proposals included significantly more than last year’s “final plans” proposed so it will be interesting to see what the new “final plans” include and whether any more of what the Council and the now defunct Levenshulme Bee Network had promised has been reinstated. Levenshulme Councillors have recently said that the Council will not install any more modal filters / road blocks.

Levenshulme Community Association has consistently supported the idea of an Active Neighbourhood and made positive proposals throughout the several years of this project. If the new “final plans” include improvements to pavements and crossings and cycle routes that actually connect across and outside the area as this announcement suggests then that will be a big improvement on the previous “final plans” that only included one cycle lane that ran half way along Matthews Lane and did not connect to anything at either end. Pavement and accessibility improvements were also previously limited to only a handful of roads in the area.

The LCA will continue to provide further updates as information becomes available.

Manchester Evening News also has an article on the latest announcement from Manchester City Council.

The council news item is HERE

The MEN article is HERE

Crime Survey

Greater Manchester Combined Authority is doing a Crime Survey. Tell them about your experiences of crime HERE.

Energy Switch Incentive From Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Greater Manchester Combined Authority has partnered with the Big Clean Switch energy comparison site to encourage switching to clean energy. This includes a £35 credit when you switch to one of the participating suppliers.

“Greater Manchester Combined Authority is committed to making the city a clean energy leader. We face major environmental challenges that threaten the health and prosperity of our region. Greater Manchester is taking action with the 5-Year Environment Plan, to be launched at the Green Summit. The plan sets out our long-term environmental vision – to be carbon neutral by 2038 – and the urgent actions we all need to take in the next 5 years to help achieve this.” 

BIG CLEAN switch website

Andy Burnham (Greater Manchester Mayor) was promoting the scheme on BBC Radio Manchester today (23 September 2021). However, caution is advised as one of the suppliers used by the Big Clean Switch site – Bulb Energy – is currently in crisis talks with the government with reports that it has or will go bust very soon.

The Big Clean Switch website for this offer is available HERE

Please Note: Energy supplies in the UK are currently in a chaotic state with suppliers going bust and extreme volatility in the market. The LCA is sharing this for information only and this does not constitute advice or a recommendation in any way.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority says:

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is working with Big Clean Switch to offer residents £35 of free energy when they switch to a green tariff from some of the UK’s most trusted suppliers.

With many households across Greater Manchester facing rising bills due to more time spent at home, the scheme helps residents switch to low cost, high quality green energy tariffs.

 Switching is simple:

  1. Find a recent bill from your current supplier and fill your details in on the form (link opens in new tab).
  2. You’ll be able to compare your current energy bill with how much you’ll spend with each of Big Clean Switch’s green suppliers*. Suppliers who are offering the £35 free energy with an account credit will show in the supplier list. If you choose a supplier that isn’t taking part, GMCA will receive £35 to help fund local environmental projects.
  3. Once you’ve selected your preferred deal, just add in a few details to get your new energy account set up. Your £35 of free energy will be added to your new account within six weeks of the switch going live.

For more information on the scheme, email help@bigcleanswitch.org or call Big Clean Switch on 0800 249 4770.