Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and The National Lottery Community Fund join forces to grow Live Well spaces and boost everyday support across every neighbourhood
The National Lottery Community Fund backs Greater Manchester’s work to embed everyday support in every neighbourhood with 10GM receiving £16.5m to build a network of 100 Live Well spaces of hope and connection
Additional £30m from Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and NHS Greater Manchester announced to expand Live Well everyday support, through centres, spaces and offers across city region over the next three years
Live Well is bringing communities, residents, the voluntary sector and public services together to reduce health, social and economic inequalities and enable people to thrive
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and The National Lottery Community Fund have today announced a major investment of £46.5m in the city region’s pioneering Live Well ambition.
Live Well is Greater Manchester’s transformative approach to developing everyday support in every neighbourhood, working with community spaces as hubs for support around jobs, health, housing, debt, food, family and social connection.
Backed by £16.5 million from The National Lottery Community Fund, the latest investment will grow more than 100 Live Well community spaces of hope and connection across the city region.
In addition, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and NHS GM are committing a further £30m to expand Live Well everyday support, through centres, spaces and offers across city region over the next three years.
Live Well community spaces are shaped by the communities they serve and bring together a range of groups, activities, and support for residents. These spaces complement Live Well’s wider ambition to tackle inequality in areas where social infrastructure has been under resourced for too long and enable people to form social connections on their doorstep.
Greater Manchester’s new £16.5m partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund will strengthen the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations’ ability to support Live Well and builds on an initial £1m of National Lottery funding which helped kick start Live Well in Greater Manchester.
The latest funding recognises Greater Manchester’s national leadership in community-powered approaches and its ambition to reshape how places, people and services work together to help enable residents to thrive.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said:
"Through Live Well we are transforming everyday support for our residents and embedding that support in the heart of our neighbourhoods and communities.
“We are hugely grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund for backing this work and helping us accelerate the growth of Live Well across Greater Manchester.
“We’re now expanding Live Well spaces across our city region, working with communities to create welcoming, practical and visible places where people can find connection, advice and support.
“And today we’re committing further investment to grow Live Well in every borough so it becomes a familiar, trusted offer for residents. This is how we build a fairer, more inclusive Greater Manchester where everyone can get the support they need and no one and no place is left behind.”
In addition, a further £1m has been committed from Greater Manchester Combined Authority and NHS GM into a Live Well Communities Fund for grassroots organisations to get involved over the next two years.
The latest funding announcement also coincides with the Live Well Spring Festival taking place across the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester until March 23, bringing together more than 250 community-led events and ideas, reflecting the energy, creativity and diversity of Live Well in action.
Dame Julia Cleverdon, Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, said:
“We’re delighted to invest £16.5 million of truly life-changing funding into this project. So often people talk about -'joined-up working', 'systems change', 'taking a holistic approach'. Live Well does all those things. Bringing together the support. The services. The opportunities. The money. The efforts. And re-imagining them. Shifting them to serve people better. To help people not just survive, but to thrive. To foster the conditions for a happier, healthier society. To create not just pockets of goodness but a movement for change. Because ultimately what we do here in Greater Manchester can be a blueprint for the rest of the country.”
Liz Windsor-Welsh, Director of 10GM, speaking on behalf of the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise sector in Greater Manchester, said:
“We’re thrilled to have secured this major investment in Greater Manchester’s VCFSE sector. Across our 10 boroughs, there are already hundreds of spaces of hope and connection. They’re the lifeblood of our sector. But many are underfunded, overstretched and held up by just a few dedicated individuals fighting to keep the lights on. These leaders often face immense pressure, driven by a deep sense of responsibility to their communities. And too many people facing the most significant inequalities still do not have communal spaces to call their own.
“This investment will help us change that. Prioritising the communities facing the greatest inequalities, it builds on the leadership and creativity already rooted in local communities. It will help strengthen social infrastructure and put real power, resources and decision-making into local hands.
“Powered by the Live Well movement, we'll work with our VCFSE organisations, public services, and residents to share power, change systems and shape healthier, fairer, more connected places, so that everyone can live a better life.”
Notes to editors:
More information about the Live Well Spring Festival can be found here.
10GM is a joint venture to support the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector in Greater Manchester. The founding members are Action Together, Bolton CVS, Manchester Community Central and Salford CVS. We are local infrastructure organisations operating strategically and collaboratively; our shared purpose is to champion local voluntary and community action and social enterprise across the city-region to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of Greater Manchester’s people and communities.