Chester Zoo have been awarded £318,000 in additional funds to help accelerate nature recovery and improve wildlife conservation efforts across Cheshire.
In the scheme backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the popular North West tourist destination and one of the best zoos in the world, let alone the UK, has been handed over £300k to put towards ensuring a better future for local nature and its inhabitants throughout the region.
Chester Zoo‘s nature recovery and animal conservation work will see them develop detailed plans to restore vital habitats for wildlife and create new ones for severely declining UK species, through a new project called ‘Networks for Nature’.
Some truly crucial work, this.
Excited to share that this NEW Networks for Nature project is possible thanks to @HeritageFundUK and National Lottery players, who are helping to ensure a brighter future for wildlife in Cheshire! 🚀🐸🐝🌸🦊🐍 pic.twitter.com/zXj5mS1zyI
With around 50% of UK species reported to be in decline, including the likes of great crested newts, the black poplar — Britain’s most endangered native timber tree — and the water vole which has been lost from 94% of places where they were once prevalent since the 1960s, we must act now rather than later.
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With that in mind, Chester Zoo will now work closely with local organisations and partners over the next 14 months to begin the nature recovery work and, hopefully, ensure a robust second-round application can be submitted to The National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2025.
Better still, the zoo will be working alongside Cheshire West and Chester Local Authority, Cheshire Wildlife Trust; the Canal and River Trust; Sustrans, the Land Trust and Cheshire West Communities Together to improve land holdings across Cheshire’s natural landscape and engage with the community.
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This really is a team effort, with everyone chipping in to look after our precious biomes and all within them, not mention secure their future for generations to come. We don’t want any more news like the fate of the River Lim last month.
Chester Zoo’s Community Engagement Manager, Hannah Brooks, said: “We’re in the midst of a global biodiversity crisis. The UN estimates that one million species are at risk of extinction, including many here in the UK, meaning there’s never been a more pressing time to stand together for nature.”
“Nature is in need of urgent help and our new Networks for Nature project will create a thriving, better connected, wildlife-rich landscape across the North West and Cheshire, benefitting both nature and the surrounding communities.
“Maintained through a strong partnership of local organisations, this grant will enable a comprehensive and joined-up response to tackling habitat fragmentation and degradation, and urban isolation from nature… make nature more accessible and inclusive for everyone to improve wellbeing and empower more people to have an active role in conservation, with the skills and know-how needed to create and grow biodiverse habitats.
“By coming together, we can make a significant difference to improving nature in Cheshire, and contribute to the global effort to protect and restore biodiversity.” Brilliant stuff.
You can email [email protected] for more information or to find out how you can get involved, and you can learn more about what the zoo is doing to look after our beloved animal friends and their surroundings down below:
New £60m fund launched to fill potholes across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
A new £60 million Pothole Fund has been created to repair more of the city region’s roads and pavements.
The fund – which has been set up by new Mayor Bev Craig, and is to be spent across every borough in Greater Manchester – is set to be a ‘major boost’ to efforts to tackle the pothole problem, as it will be enough to repair and maintain over a million square metres, or around 125 kilometres, of road across the wider region.
Around 2.5 billion trips are made on Greater Manchester‘s roads every year – not only by motorists, but also by buses, trams, cyclists, and pedestrians. So the fund will be used to help keep the highways network ‘safe and reliable’.
The fund will enable transport teams to repair hotspots where surfaces are in poor condition, as well as resurface roads and pavements to prevent them from deteriorating in the first place.
A new £60m fund has been launched to fill potholes across Greater Manchester / Credit: TfGM
Cold and wet winters, more traffic, and heavier vehicles using the roads are just some of the contributing factors to the pothole problem, which is why the fund is being introduced before autumn and winter properly arrives.
The amount each of the 10 boroughs will receive is based on an agreed funding formula, with the allocations being:
Bolton: £6,552,000
Bury: £4,374,000
Manchester: £8,155,000
Oldham: £5,258,000
Rochdale: £5,243,000
Salford: £5,388,000
Stockport: £6,820,000
Tameside: £4,980,000
Trafford: £4,992,000
Wigan: £8,241,000
The extra cash comes from the region’s transport budget, with leaders agreeing to reallocate funding towards highways maintenance, and it fulfils a commitment Bev made in her Mayoral Manifesto to repair more roads and make sure pavements are safe.
“Keeping our roads and pavements safe and well maintained is essential for a growing city region like Greater Manchester,” explained Mayor Bev Craig.
“That’s why I promised to create this new Pothole Fund that will benefit drivers and everyone who uses our roads to get around. Properly maintaining our roads will save motorists money on costly repairs, and by preventing potholes forming in the first place, councils won’t have to spend as much money on emergency road repairs.
“This issue came up repeatedly on the doorstep during my election campaign so I’m pleased that I can do something about it so quickly, building on the significant work already planned by councils across Greater Manchester.”
Featured Image – TfGM
News
Six GMP officers dismissed following racial discrimination allegations
Emily Sergeant
A number of police officers have been dismissed following an internal investigation, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has confirmed.
Following the internal investigation into alleged racial discrimination against an officer on the Bury district – which was launched by GMP‘s Professional Standards Directorate in July 2024 – six officers and two former officers were found to have committed gross misconduct, and a ninth officer was found to have committed misconduct.
The investigation came after a report was made that an officer had been subjected to ‘racist behaviour’ by colleagues in December 2023.
The panel heard how PC Y – who has African heritage and has been granted anonymity – made a complaint after her accent was mimicked by a group of officers. She was also compared to a suspect with similar skin colour, and one of the dismissed PCs made a derogatory comment about her hair.
PC Y was supported and kept updated throughout the investigation, GMP assured, as well as providing evidence at the hearing.
The misconduct hearing lasted just over two weeks, with the panel concluding that the officers breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to Equality and Diversity, Authority, Respect, and Courtesy.
The six officers who have been dismissed are PC Demi Green, PC Heena Rani, PC Lucy Granby, PC Matthew Barlow, PC Matthew Hill, and PC Mohammed Abid, while the former officers who were found to have committed gross misconduct are PC Jake Holt, and former Officer A – who has been granted anonymity.
The panel also found that Sergeant Adrian Bick’s actions amounted to misconduct, as there was no breach of the standard of equality and diversity.
As a result, the six serving officers have been sacked without notice, while the two former officers would have been dismissed had they not already left the force, and Sergeant Bick was issued a written warning.
“No officer or member of staff should have to come to work and experience discriminatory behaviour from the people they serve alongside,” declared Deputy Chief Constable, Terry Woods.
“Everyone has the right to feel respected, valued and part of the same team with a shared commitment to serving our communities and keeping people safe.”
Danny Jones -
21st June 2023 
