Last week, the Mayor’s Challenge Fund (MCF) project team at One Trafford Partnership (a collaboration between Trafford Council and Amey), were invited to present the success of their Urmston Active Neighbourhood project, at Transport for Greater Manchester’s (TfGM) Bee Informed event.
Hosted by TfGM and Cycling and Walking Commissioner for Greater Manchester, Chris Boardman, the event was attended by Local Authorities and Councillors from the 10 districts across Greater Manchester.
Urmston’s Active Neighbourhood project supports Chris Boardman’s, ambition to connect every neighbourhood and community across the region, by making it easier for people to get around on foot or by bike. The proposal is part of the Bee Network’s vision to create the UK’s largest joined-up cycling and walking network, at 1,800 miles long.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester has allocated £160m to the MCF, which supports the Bee Network. This has resulted in One Trafford being awarded funding to develop schemes to the value of £11.3m.
The event provided an opportunity for attendees to learn more about the use of consultation and engagement activities when developing their own schemes. The communications and engagement activities used to promote the Urmston Active Neighbourhood launch, which resulted in one of Trafford’s biggest community consultation events held to date, were showcased as an example of best practice.
Other aspects of the session included:
- An introductory session exploring opportunities and challenges for delivery
- Updates on the Bee Network progress and the GM Investment Plan
- Helpful statistics and facts on increasing walking and cycling
- Case studies on best practice and different methods of consulting
Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Cath Hynes, said:
The Bee Network is exciting not just for Trafford but for all districts and communities across Greater Manchester. We are working closely with Amey and TfGM and the whole community is engaged with the active neighbourhood initiative. It is an honour to share our learning and One Trafford project team’s best practice with the other boroughs.
Implementing more accessible walking and cycling routes will improve air quality for the community and lead to better health and wellbeing."
Find out more about the project or have your say on the initial proposals for the scheme by visiting www.urmstonactiveneighbourhoodmap.commonplace.is
Posted on Monday 16th March 2020