Cash Grants to Improve Residential Areas

Help with funding applications

If you need advice on filling in the application form or your application is unsuccessful or you need more money from other sources, advice is available from Manchester Community Central on 0333 321 3021. 

Ward Co-ordinators and Support Officers

Ward Co-ordination Officers work for the Council and are involved in the development of local services and working in partnership with local people and organisations.

Working with Council departments

Before you make your application - Once your group has agreed that you want to apply for a Cash grant you need to decide whether you can do the work yourselves or whether a professional contractor may be needed.

If you can do the work yourselves simply tell us this on your application form (in section 20) and if you are successful your local ward co-ordination support officer will arrange with you when and how any grant can be paid. If you know that you will need a professional contractor to do some or all of the work you will need to decide if you want a private company or a Council department to do this.

If you would like a private company to do the work you will need to get one or more separate estimates, depending on the cost of the work. Your local ward co-ordination support officer will provide advice on how many estimates you may need.

Any estimate(s) you get should be sent in with your application form and if you are successful your local ward co-ordination support officer will arrange with you when and how any grant can be paid. If you decide that you would like a Council department to do the work you will still need to get an estimate from them showing how much the work will cost.

The department that you should contact about an estimate depends on the type of work that you want to do and where your project is located.

At the end of this page is a list of which departments you can contact.

When you do contact a department please tell them that you are asking for an estimate for your Cash grant application. Once you have contacted the department they will arrange for someone to speak to you about your project and then arrange for a written estimate to be sent to you.

You will need to send this estimate in with your application form.

If you are successful

As soon as possible after you have received your offer letter and returned the acceptance form you should contact the Council department that gave you the estimate. You will need to confirm with them that you have been awarded a grant and how much it is for - you may need to let them have a copy of your offer letter.

Unfortunately, due to the high number of applications we receive it may not be possible to award you the full amount that you requested. If this is the case you will need to discuss with the department which parts of your project you want to go ahead with and agree when this work can be carried out.

Once your project is completed

When all the work on your project that was covered by the grant is completed you will need to ask the department to send an invoice (called an IDT invoice), covering the whole cost of the work that was done, to your ward co-ordination support officer.

Once they have this invoice the ward co-ordination support officer can arrange for payment to be made to the department.

Who to contact about your application

If your project will be located on a local common, an area of waste ground, roadside verges, roads or footpaths (including hanging baskets, flower planters, street trees, new street furniture such as signs, litter bins and dog litter bins), you need to contact Environment On Call 0161 954 9000

Please say that you are ringing about Cash grants

If your project will take place in your local park - you need to speak to the local Parks Manager.

Local parks managers

North Area Parks Manager - Kylie Ward,
Telephone 0161 795 2650,
Fax 0161 795 0832
Wards covered by North Area: Charlestown, Cheetham, Crumpsall, Harpurhey, Higher Blackley, Miles Platting & Newton Heath and Moston.

East Area Parks Manager - Steve Downey,
Telephone 0161 223 8278,
Fax 0161 223 3714
Wards covered by East Area: Ancoats & Clayton Bradford Burnage Gorton North Gorton South Levenshulme Longsight

Central Area Parks Manager - Dave McCracken, Telephone 0161 224 2902,
Fax 0161 256 2861
Wards covered by Central Area: Ardwick, City Centre, Chorlton, Chorlton Park, Fallowfield, Hulme, Moss Side, Old Moat, Rusholme, Whalley Range, Withington

South Area Parks Manager - Steve West,
Telephone 0161 998 2117,
Fax 0161 945 1743,
Textphone 0161 998 2117
Wards covered by South Area: Brooklands, Baguley, Didsbury, East Didsbury, West Northenden, Sharston, Woodhouse Park

Heaton Park - Graham Wightman
Tel: 0161 773 1085

The Irk Valley - Hilary Wood
Tel: 0161 220 1000

Medlock Valley - Jo Fraser
Tel: 0161 220 1000

Mersey Valley - Steve Marshall
Tel: 0161 881 5639