People power came to Wythenshawe recently when residents voted to choose which community groups received a share of a pot of nearly £40,000 worth of Manchester City Council funding.
In an unusual exercise in democracy – called U Decide – residents from Northenden Ward, comprising Northenden, Northern Moor and Benchill, went to a public meeting, listened to short presentations from ten local groups, then voted to choose the schemes they considered most worthy of funding. After the votes were counted, the community groups learned straight away whether or not they’d been successful.
Below is a list of the six groups who impressed the public enough to win the vote and their share of the cash at the U Decide meeting:
St Michael’s Community Hall – Northern Moor £10,000
Sprung floor for community hall.
Northenden Allotment and Garden Society £5,552
New roof on trading hut and fencing
Friends of Northenden Community School £2,139
Allotment fruit cage/polytunnel and raised beds
and equipment at the school
Friends of Northenden Riverside Park £7,912
Toilet block running costs, portacabin.
Northern Moor Gardening Society Bee Club £1,261
Equipment and storage for bee-keeping activities
Rose Hill Community Farm and Garden £11,376
Fencing and gates.