Green Spaces Fund

The Green Spaces Fund provides grants between £2,000 - £40,000 to community groups across Greater Manchester who want to increase the amount of accessible, nature-rich green space where people need it most.

Launched by Andy Burnham in 2022 and managed by the GMET, the fund has invested over £4 million and enabled 122 community groups to develop projects across the city region, including orchards, green alleyways, allotments and community gardens.

So far, over 28,000m² of new green space has been created and nearly 400,000m² of existing green space has been improved.

Before you apply, there are some key criteria you’ll have to meet to be eligible to apply to the Greater Manchester Green Spaces Fund.

The below questions will help you to find out if you’re ready!

• Does your project focus on the creation and/or improvement of green or blue (water) space? It is essential that your project delivers this.
   
• Is your application being submitted by one of our eligible groups? Your organisation needs to be a registered charity, a community group, a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), a residents association, a community interest company (CIC), a school, or a community benefit society. Please note: individuals are not eligible to apply.
   
• Do you have permission from the person who owns the land to deliver your project on their site? You must submit landowner permission (in writing) as part of your application.
   
• Is the project going to be on publicly accessible land? All projects funded by the Green Spaces Fund must be on land which is openly and freely accessible to the public. Confirmation must also be provided that the land will remain accessible to the public during and after the works.
   
• Does your group/organisation have a bank account that has been open for at least three months? Please note, this cannot be a personal bank account. If not, you need to ask an accountable body, i.e a registered housing provider or local authority to hold the money from the Green Spaces Fund on your behalf if you are successful with your application.
   

If you answered yes to all of these questions, you’re on the right track to submit an application! We will shortly be releasing a full guidance document that you can read before you submit your application.

All applications are to be submitted via our Flexi-Grant portal here.

Best of luck with your application! If you require support with your application, see below for webinar recordings and how to contact our Green Spaces Fund Advisors.

Further support: Green Spaces Fund Advisors

Our dedicated Green Spaces Fund Advisors are on hand to support any residents or groups looking to apply, offering expert advice on how to shape a strong application and guiding applicants through the process step by step. Each advisor covers a different area of Greater Manchester - you can contact your local advisor directly using the following details:

• Bolton & Bury: Susan Whittle, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, gsfadvisor@lancswt.org.uk
• Manchester & Trafford: Kieron McGlasson, Sow the City, kieron@sowthecity.org
• Oldham & Salford: Andrew Swarbrick, RHS, andrewswarbrick@rhs.org.uk
• Rochdale: Lizzie Meade, Groundwork, lizzie.meade@groundwork.org.uk
• Stockport & Tameside: Nina Jerome, City of Trees, nina@cityoftrees.org.uk
• Wigan: Sam Phillips, Groundwork, sam.phillips@groundwork.org.uk

Click here to learn more about our Green Spaces Fund Advisors. 

Webinars

Find out more about the Green Spaces Fund and the application process in the webinar recordings linked below.

• Meeting Aim 1 of the fund - Benefit communities in greatest need of quality green space - watch the recording here

• Meeting Aim 2 of the fund - Tackle our climate and biodiversity emergency - watch the recording here

• Meeting Aim 3 of the fund - Encourage and empower communities to get involved with nature - watch the recording here

Project inspiration

Want to do a local project but not sure where to start? Get some inspiration by finding out more about the projects we are already supporting through the Green Spaces Fund.