Community action/Manchester
The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism across Manchester. It's an introduction to local networks, groups, events, community resources and assets.
- Manchester community climate action and ecological restoration is a separate page.
News
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Addiction services are failing minority or marginalised communities in Bolton: a new charity aims to fill the gap, right-here.org (Feb 13, 2026) — Date of article not found.- Co-ops looking to change the world, town by town, thenews.coop (Nov 03, 2025)
- English housing project aims to transform later-life living, positive.news (Sep 01, 2025)
- Young Atlantic salmon seen in three English rivers for first time in a decade, theguardian.com (Dec 30, 2025)
- Drought declared in north-west England amid declining reservoir levels, theguardian.com (May 29, 2025)
- Whitehaven coal mine plan quashed by High Court, BBC News (Sep 13, 2024)
- Firefighters voice growing concerns over water supplies to tackle UK wildfires, theguardian.com (Oct 21, 2026) — Housing development recognised as one of a number of pressures increasing demand on an already stretched water network
- Volunteers became salmon, deer and earthworms. Then they set out to save their river, positive.news (Oct 19, 2026) — What does a polluted river feel like to a salmon? An unusual experiment is helping a Somerset community see its landscape through the eyes of wildlife – and plot a 30-year route to change it
- Severe drought declared in six areas of England as reservoirs run low, theguardian.com (Oct 15, 2026)
- Citizens need to power Europe's future, demnext.substack.com (Oct 02, 2026) — The EU can enable new democratic institutions: in European countries; with a European Citizens’ Assembly as a 4th branch of government, and by legally enforcing the Global Citizens’ Assembly on AI, Claudia Chwalisz and Another Democratic Future
- Reclaiming the streets: the architects clawing back Europe’s car-centric spaces, theguardian.com (Sep 09, 2026) — The European Prize for Urban Public Space’s shortlist highlights projects helping people cope with climate crisis
- We’re the mayors of Paris, Milan and Phoenix. The heat crisis has us all facing the same question, Emmanuel Grégoire, Giuseppe Sala and Kate Gallego, theguardian.com (Sep 07, 2026) — Our three cities are learning from each other about how to protect residents. These climate policies are also public health measures
- Shrinking Giants, Part 6: Beyond Fossil Finance, growingcommons.substack.com (Nov 01, 2026) — Moving towards post-growth in a world where states must grow or lose their security, Ronan Murphy
- Throw the best party!, demnext.substack.com (Oct 22, 2026) — Programme Coordinator Hannah Terry on finding hope with 30 young democracy builders in Croatia
- A Modest Proposal To Improve Democracy In Canada, davidmoscrop.com (Oct 22, 2026) — We must strengthen self-government by putting more Canadians in charge of the political agenda. David Moscrop
Networks and sustainability initiatives
[edit | edit source]- Lighthouse Project, drop-in style community hub open to all, aiming to provide a safe and welcoming environment where people can get help and support, meet together, and access a range of opportunities that are caring, social, or educational. Part of Inspire Middleton. added 10:52, 13 July 2025 (UTC)
- Springfield, Beech Hill & Gidlow Community, (Wigan) — mutual aid group formed by neighbours. "Bringing the community together to create a great place to live, work and play", added 13:14, 20 October 2022 (UTC)
- Wigan CAN on twitter, Citizens & Neighbours of Wigan, Members of Neighbourhood Democracy Movement
- Action for Sustainable Living
- Envirolution UK, community cooperative based in Greater Manchester which aims to create a catalyst for environmental & social change
CDC video
[edit | edit source]Each week 3 different short videos from across the UK or world.
Community action/United Kingdom/Climate emergency, Community action/United Kingdom/Community involvement, Community action/United Kingdom/Food activism / ...This week's featured Global videos / ... read more about Cosmolocalism
Manchester video
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UK and international events
[edit | edit source]UK events
Nov 9 - 15, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Living Wage Week, livingwage.org.uk- Nov 13, 2026 (Fri) — Kindness Day UK, Nov 13 annually, aiming to increase the value of kindness in society as well as increase the amount of kind acts that take place, making kindness a greater part in our daily life, kindnessuk.com
- Nov 15 - 21, 2026 (Sun - Sat) — Road Safety Week, brake.org.uk
- Nov 21 - 29, 2026 (Sat - Sun) — National Tree Week, The Tree Council's annual tree celebration. People across the country planting thousands of trees to mark the start of the winter tree planting season. "Trees and hedgerows are some of the most powerful tools we have in the fight against climate change.", treecouncil.org.uk
Global or international events
- Nov 05, 2026 (Thu) — Media Liberation Day, Change the Media, Change the Future, mediarevolution.org
- Nov 13, 2026 (Fri) — World Kindness Day, Nov 13, annually, highlighting good deeds in the community focusing on the positive power and the common thread of kindness for good which binds us, randomactsofkindness.org
- Nov 15, 2026 (Sun) — World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, third Sunday in November each year, worlddayofremembrance.org
- Nov 16, 2026 (Mon) — International Day for Tolerance, Nov 16 each year, fostering respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human, unesco.org
- Nov 19, 2026 (Thu) — International Men's Day, Nov 19, annually
- Nov 27 & 28, 2026 — Buy Nothing Day, en.wikipedia.org
- Nov 27, 2026 (Fri) — Citizen Friday, actionism.space
2021-2030, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, International community action events
Community involvement
[edit | edit source]People's Plan, an independent public engagement programme, by and for citizens and civil society of Greater Manchester
Community and voluntary action
[edit | edit source]- Manchester Community Central, added 14:22, 18 May 2021 (UTC)
Community resources video
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Food activism
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Hulme Community Garden Centre (HCGC) is a garden and community centre in Hulme, Manchester, England. It was featured in a 2017 episode of the TV show Gardener's World.
As well as selling plants, HCGC has a café, a public garden, outdoor cooking spaces, a straw bale classroom and a pond area. HCGC run events throughout the year, from courses on growing vegetables to wellbeing sessions.
- Hulme Community Garden Centre, added 17:28, 23 November 2025 (UTC)
- The Kindling Trust, kindling.org.uk, added 17:37, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
- Abundance Manchester, voluntary project which picks surplus or unwanted fruit from gardens and public trees around South Manchester and distributes it to local groups and communities
- Food Futures
- Hulme Community Garden centre
- Incredible Edible Prestwich and District
- Incredible Edible Salford on facebook
- Manchester Veg People, multi-stakeholder co-operative of local organic growers and buyers who are working together to help develop a new model for the local food supply chain
- Sow the City
Community energy
[edit | edit source]- Carbon Co-op
- Halton Lune Hydro
- Saddleworth Community Hydro
- St John's Sunshine, Old Trafford
- Bee Sustainable, Bury
- Community Energy GM, helping community organizations come together and install renewable energy
- Moss Community Energy
Past events
- September 12, 2015 - Open Day Saddleworth Community Hydro
Housing and land
[edit | edit source]- Who owns the City? The privatisation of public land in Manchester, By Greater Manchester Housing Action, May 10, 2021...gmhousingaction.com
Past events
- September 12 - 13, 2015 - Open Eco homes, Carbon Coop
Towards sustainable economies
[edit | edit source]Steady State Manchester, for local prosperity, justice & ecological safety
Resources
The Viable Economy steadystatemanchester
Past events
- May 17, 2017 - Achieving a viable economy – is community business the answer? by Steady State Manchester, eventbrite.com
Community resources
[edit | edit source]- Museum of Community Futures, storymaps.arcgis.com. Exhibition showcasing communities in Greater Manchester defying the odds to shape their places and futures. Presented by We’re Right Here and Greater Manchester Live Well. March 12, 2026, added 16:33, 26 March 2026 (UTC)
Arts, sport and culture
[edit | edit source]- The People Act Legislative Theatre, on youtube.com, bringing residents, policymakers and activists together into creative, fun and constructive dialogue, to co-create more equitable and effective policies and laws. Connect with UK (Edinburgh, Newcastle, Gateshead, Manchester and London) and international practitioners, thepeopleact.org, added 16:16, 10 February 2025 (UTC)
Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle
[edit | edit source]Recycle for Greater Manchester
Other resources
[edit | edit source]Funding
Maps
Locations and Facilities in Trafford
Citizens data initiative
DataGM, freeing Greater Manchester's public data
Research
- Greater Manchester Poverty Commission findings published January 2013, calls for special measures which will assist more than 600,000 Greater Manchester residents who are experiencing the effects of extreme poverty. In addition, calls for action to prevent nearly 1.6 million people (nearly half the population of Greater Manchester) sliding in to deeper poverty.
Apps for sustainability
Recycle for Greater Manchester Phone App
About Greater Manchester
[edit | edit source]Greater Manchester is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, West Yorkshire and Derbyshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester.
The county has an area of 1,276 km2 (493 sq mi) and is highly urbanised, with an estimated population of 3,009,664 in 2024. Manchester is in the centre of the county, with the city of Salford immediately adjacent to the west. Other large settlements include Rochdale in the north-east, Stockport in the south-east, Sale in the south-west, Wigan in the far north-west, and Bolton in the north-west. The majority of the county's settlements are part of the Greater Manchester Built-up Area, which extends into Cheshire and Merseyside and is the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom. For local government purposes the county comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan. The borough councils collaborate through the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Greater Manchester was created in 1974 from parts of north-east Cheshire, south-east Lancashire, and a small part of the West Riding of Yorkshire.
The centre and south-west of Greater Manchester are lowlands, similar to the West Lancashire Coastal Plain to the north-west and the Cheshire Plain to the south-west. The north and east are part of the Pennines: the West Pennine Moors in the northwest, the South Pennines in the northeast and the Peak District in the east. Most of the county's rivers rise in the Pennines and are tributaries of the Mersey and Irwell, the latter of which is itself a tributary of the Mersey. The county is connected to the Mersey Estuary by the Manchester Ship Canal, which for its entire length within Greater Manchester consists of canalised sections of the Mersey and Irwell.
| Authors | Phil Green |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
| Cite as | Phil Green (2014–2026). "Community action/Manchester". Appropedia. Retrieved November 2, 2026. |