Tag: Manchester City Council

Community News, News, Politics

Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Centre gets green boost
Cllr Tracy Rawlins
Woodhouse Park Active Lifestyle Centre is set to launch a scheme to reduce its carbon footprint after securing a £1.2 million Government grant.
Manchester City Council has been awarded around £300,000 in the latest round of the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme and will contribute the remaining £879,000 to cut 52 tonnes of carbon emissions a year by making the leisure centre and community facility more energy efficient through the installation of an air source heat pump and LED lighting.

The money has been awarded in the latest round of the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which is initiated by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and delivered by Salix Finance, as part of a joint bid administered by Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

The Council has previously secured around £30m in funding for carbon reduction schemes to install solar PV cells, air and ground source heat pumps, LED lighting and other energy saving features in key buildings across its estate. Since 2019/20 a 30% reduction in carbon emissions has been achieved.Work on the Woodhouse Park Active Lifestyle Centre scheme is due to be completed by the end of March 2024.

Baguley councillor Tracey Rawlins, Executive Member for Environment for Manchester City Council, said:
“Our buildings are the Council’s biggest source of direct emissions and one of the areas where we are leading by example in cutting greenhouse gases. This latest scheme will be another contribution to that cause.”

And Salix Director of Programme Ian Rodger said: “We are looking forward to working with Manchester City Council on this project which will help cut carbon emissions and will make this well-used community facility more energy efficient. We will support the Council throughout this decarbonisation journey, helping it meet its net zero targets.
News

Local elections: Greens win another council seat in Woodhouse Park
Astrid Johnson with Rob Nunney

The Green Party has taken another seat from Labour in this year’s Manchester council elections.

Astrid Johnson took the council seat from Labour’s Sarah Judge who had represented Woodhouse Park for Labour since 2015.

Sarah Judge

Ms Johnson joins fellow Green, Rob Nunney who was elected to represent the ward last year.

This year’s result was close with the Greens taking the seat with 1345 votes against Labour’s 1345. The turnout in the ward was 24 per cent.

The Green victory in Woodhouse Park was the only change at Manchester City Council where Labour remain firmly in control. Elsewhere in Wythenshawe Tommy Judge, Paul Andrews, Sue Cooley and Angela Moran won for Labour in Sharston, Baguley, Brooklands and Northenden respectively.

In Trafford, Labour retained control, with the Conservative Group leader losing his seat in Timperley to the Liberal Democrats. Labour and the Greens also took a seat each from the Conservatives.

In Stockport, the council remains in no overall control with a swing to the Liberal Democrats.

Nationally, it was a bad night for the Conservatives, who lost control of nine councils with the former Tory strongholds of Westminster and Wandsworth councils falling to Labour. Labour gained five councils and Liberal Democrats two.

A full list of Manchester’s council results can be found here.

News, Politics

Woodhouse Park candidates line up to face the public in hustings event

Candidates fighting to represent Woodhouse Park in the May local elections will be facing voters at a hustings session on Wednesday (20th April 2022).

The hustings will begin at 7.30pm at William Temple Church, (Robinswood Road, Wythenshawe, Manchester, M22 0BU).

The candidates fighting the seat are Anna Hablak for the Liberal Democrats, Astrid Johnson for the Green Party, Sarah Judge for Labour, and Stephen McHugh for the Conservatives.

Labour are defending the seat and will be hoping to fend of a challenge from the Greens looking to secure their second seat in the ward.

Last year the Greens pulled off a shock victory, unseating Labour’s Brian O’Neil, securing their first seat on Manchester City Council in 13 years.

Anyone attending the the event can submit questions ahead of the hustings by email: hustingswhp@gmail.com

Community News, News

Residents told they can return to homes after flood warning is stood down

Residents in Northenden and Didsbury who had been evacuated from their homes can now return, after the Severe Flood Warning for the area was stood down.

Wythenshawe Forum remains open and around 48 people attended the rest centre there overnight

This mean that people who have been evacuated from their home can now return – but emergency services remain on alert as water levels are expected to vary today. Vulnerable people will be helped to return home during the day.   

Water levels had continued to rise overnight as expected, but the Didsbury Basin did not significantly overflow and the worst-case scenario was avoided. 

However, high water levels have flooded some gardens and some roads remain closed.  

The emergency response saw more than 200 hundred Council staff, police officers, Red Cross  and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue officers on the ground who knocked on around 1,700 Didsbury and Northenden doors and supported local residents. 

Vulnerable and self-isolating residents were provided emergency accommodation overnight and care packages were provided to support people.  

People are reminded to remain at home and only travel if absolutely necessary. 

Find information about road closures and other advice on the Council’s website: www.manchester.gov.uk/stormchristoph 

Cllr Nigel Murphy, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Thankfully we avoided the level of flooding that we expected overnight. A huge debt of thanks is owed to the Council staff, emergency services and volunteers who were on the ground through the night, knocking on doors and supporting residents who had been asked to evacuate. It really was the best of Manchester in action.  

“Standing down the Severe Flood Warning means that people can now return to their homes, which I know will be a huge relief to residents who left their lives at home last night not knowing what they might go back to.  

“Water levels will continue to be reviewed throughout the day as water levels are expected to vary, so keep an eye information from the Council and emergency services.   “Our thoughts are with those people in Greater Manchester who have been badly affected.” 

Community News, Politics

Sun power for Wythenshawe Forum in bid to cut emissions
Wythenshawe Forum

Wythenshawe Forum is now powered by solar electricity, with the installation of a new photovoltaic array on the building’s roof completed.  

New carbon-saving features for the popular community hub are set to reduce emissions by 121 tonnes per year, while also saving more than £50,000 in energy costs annually.  

To complement the solar array, 1,386 of the Forum’s light fittings are being upgraded to LED, reducing their energy consumption by 70 per cent, with a new and more efficient lighting control system also installed.

The upgrade is part of a £25m project by Manchester City Council to reduce carbon emissions across the City, which is seeing retrofitting work carried out across its buildings working towards achieving its zero-carbon goal by 2038 at the latest.  

The £10m first phase of the council’s programme, to retrofit its highest emission buildings, is drawing to a close and will achieve an emissions cut of 1,600 tonnes a year.  New solar installations are underway at Moss Side Leisure Centre, Hough End Leisure Centre, East Manchester Leisure Centre, Arcadia Library & Leisure Centre, the Manchester Tennis & Football Centre, Belle Vue Leisure Centre, the Space Project and the Sharp Project.  

Work to enable a £15m second phase of the programme, which will reduce emissions by a further 3,000 tonnes a year, is now progressing.  

Since 2009/10, the Council has already reduced its annual direct carbon emissions by more than 50 per cent.  In March 2020, it agreed a landmark Climate Change Action Plan 2020-25, setting out an ambitious target to halve its emissions again in the space of just five years – from around 32,000 tonnes a year to around 16,000 tonnes a year.  
 
Executive Member for the Environment, Planning and Transport, Councillor Angeliki Stogia, said: “This project to modernise the energy supply for Wythenshawe Forum is a great example of the work which is happening right across the city to cut carbon emissions from the Council’s buildings as quickly as possible. 

“Wythenshawe Forum’s solar power installation will help to reduce the Council’s direct carbon emissions, as part of our radical proposals to rebuild a greener Manchester in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Having declared a climate emergency, we’re committed to doing everything within our power to rapidly reduce the Council’s carbon emissions, in line with science-based targets which comply with the Paris Agreement.”

Eddie Flanagan, chief executive of Wythenshawe Forum Trust said: “As one of Manchester’s largest public buildings and a busy community hub, it’s essential that we support and contribute to the city’s carbon reduction targets. This has been a complex project, affecting almost all of the Forum and has needed buy-in from all of our stakeholders. We are looking forward to the new equipment and technology coming online this year, which will bring significant reductions in carbon emissions and energy costs.”