Cash Grants to Improve Residential Areas

Residents of Ackroyd Avenue and Abbey Hey Lane

Grant of £3,700 to turn an empty alleyway into a communal garden with benches and flowers for residents to enjoy and a safe play area for younger children.

Having successfully applied for a grant from Manchester City Council to install alleygates and fence off spare land at the rear of their houses, the residents of Ackroyd Avenue and Abbey Hey Lane decided to transform the area into a community garden. All they needed, apart from their imagination and some hard work, was funding from the Cash grants programme to buy the tools and plants to get the job done.

Although they thought they might need planning permission, one problem they had not expected was the issue of land ownership. They had to arrange a 25-year lease and public liability insurance, both of which cost money they had not budgeted for.

Despite this, with the Cash grant and the residents' hard work and commitment they created a garden that they can all enjoy. Children can play in a clean and secure area and residents can socialise or just sit out and enjoy the benefits of the garden.

Cath Warner, a local resident involved in the project said: "The garden will make such a difference. Without Cash grants and all their help this wouldn't have happened. We met a few obstacles along the way but now it's finished you can see it was all worth the effort."

Another local resident, Donna Davies, said : "I think it's great to have somewhere clean and safe for the children to play."