An important new partnership has been launched to help improve resilience across Greater Manchester.
The North West’s power network operator Electricity North West has commissioned a two-year pilot of the national Communities Prepared programme, run by the charity Groundwork.
The resilience programme will equip up to 500 emergency volunteers, flood warden groups, parish councillors and others with the confidence to prepare, respond to and recover from a range of situations, including severe weather.
The pilot will initially take place across Wigan and Rochdale with a view to expanding the programme across the North West.
Paul Morris, Electricity North West’s customer inclusion partnerships manager, said: “We’re always looking for new ways to support our communities and that’s why we’re proud to fund a programme which improves resilience.
“All the work Communities Prepared carries out will help Greater Manchester’s residents and businesses be more prepared for extreme events.
“While prolonged power cuts are rare, they can happen during extreme weather, so we’re keen to help individuals and communities to prepare and respond, not just for power cuts but for other events too.”
Both Wigan and Rochdale were selected to be a part of the pilot due to the significant flooding both towns have experienced over recent years.
Mike Anthony, Communities Prepared programme delivery manager added: “Whilst our national programme is brilliant, we know we need to do more intensive work with local communities, reaching those who need it most – something we can’t currently achieve through our national offer.
“Working in partnership with local organisations who know their communities is what makes this project so exciting.”
As well as Electricity North West, Groundwork South will partner with Groundwork Greater Manchester, Groundwork Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside to deliver the programme.
The Greater Manchester Local Resilience Forum is also assisting, ensuring there’s buy in and understanding of the project amongst local authorities so they can strengthen their offerings and response when in an incident.
“This project comes at a really important time for our communities in Wigan and Rochdale as both have seen recent disruption to everyday life, caused by extreme weather,” said Sulafa Abushal, community programme manager at Greater Manchester Local Resilience Forum.
“It offers a practical and collaborative way to strengthen local resilience to the kinds of challenges we know are becoming more frequent. We’re looking forward to working with key partners to build on existing local knowledge and relationships.
“Groundwork brings a strong track record of community delivery, and Communities Prepared offers a national foundation of tools, training and experience that will help shape a locally rooted and sustainable approach.”
