Mayor’s Green Spaces Fund reopens with £40,000 grants for local groups

Tuesday, 13 May 2025 08:45

By David Murphy

Community organisations across Greater Manchester are being invited to apply for up to £40,000 in funding to help improve their neighbourhoods with green projects, as the sixth round of the Mayor’s Green Spaces Fund opens for applications.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester’s Green Spaces Fund has reopened for a sixth round, encouraging local community groups to come forward with ideas to transform their neighbourhoods into greener, more nature-rich environments.

Since launching in 2022, the fund run by the Greater Manchester Environment Trust (GMET) has invested over £3 million in 103 projects across the city-region. These projects have collectively planted 300,000 trees and plants, improved 400,000m² of green space and created an additional 28,000m² of new green areas. The initiative has also seen more than 100,000 people across the region get involved with outdoor, nature based community efforts.

Successful applicants can receive up to £40,000 to develop schemes in areas most in need of quality green space. Past projects have included orchards, community gardens, tree trails, urban farms and even green alleyways.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: “We’re proud to be opening another round of the Green Spaces Fund, building on the incredible momentum we’ve seen. Community groups have shown just how much can be achieved when local people are given support to reimagine and improve the spaces around them.

"This next wave is about going even further, targeting areas that need green space the most, backing projects that respond to the climate and nature emergencies, and creating places that bring people together.”

The initiative is being supported by corporate contributions, including from AutoTrader in the previous round, and GMET is now seeking further backing from private sector partners.

Co-founder of GMET, Daveen Wallis, added: “The Green Spaces Fund is helping communities reconnect with nature, and we’re excited to see what ideas come through in this next round.”

Applications for round six are open until Wednesday 14 August 2025. More information and application guidance is available at https://www.gmet.org.uk