Harrie was left disabled after a car crashed into her while she was cycling in 2017.
A Salford University researcher who was left permanently disabled after a bike crash is raising money to make cycling more accessible in Manchester.
PHD student Harrie Larrington-Spencer, 30, has set up a Crowdfunder to buy E-Trikes which can be loaned out to those who need it, for three months at a time.
Harrie, who lives in the city centre with her husband Caglar and dog Frida, suffered a brachial plexus injury after a car crashed into her while she was cycling in 2017.
Harrie recently went shopping in York to test out the E-trikes.
Speaking to The Manc, she said: “I was left disabled after a car overtook me and turned left when I was cycling in Manchester a few years ago.
“The muscles in my left hand are no longer fully functioning, and it became impossible to ride a normal bike.”
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Luckily, Harrie could afford to buy a suitable alternative, but this is not the case for everyone.
“Cycling is cheap – unless you’re disabled, and need anything other than a standard two-wheel cycle,” she added.
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“I recently ordered a trike so I can continue to transport my dog Frida safely now she is a massive 5kg and it cost the equivalent of a brand-new small car.
“By being able to provide an e-trike free of charge to disabled people on loan for a number of months, Walk Ride GM will provide an opportunity for people to experience the joy of cycling and to work out whether and how cycling can fit into their lives, without having to make a huge initial investment.”
Harrie recently ordered a trike so she can continue to transport her dog Frida safely.
Harrie set up the fundraiser on behalf of Walk Ride Greater Manchester – a group whose aim is to make walking, cycling and other active travel modes modes the natural choice for journeys across Greater Manchester.
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So far, the Crowdfunder has raised £10,461 from 164 supporters, with matched funding which Harrie secured from M&S.
She added: “I can’t believe how much has been raised so far. I’m amazed by people’s generosity, especially given the pandemic.”
The more money raised, the more E-Trikes can be purchased.
Funds will go towards the cost of trike insurance and maintenance, in addition to the trikes themselves.
Walk Ride Greater Manchester will also ensure that there is a package of support around disabled people who borrow the trike, such as route planning and buddy cycling.
Since then, a number of schemes have been implemented, including in June 2017 when Mobike started a bike-sharing scheme across the city, allowing users to hire bikes via its app.
The service was suspended in 2018, with high levels of vandalism reported.
Meanwhile, Transport for Greater Manchester aspire to “achieve at least a 300 per cent increase in the levels of cycling across the city region by 2025” as part of a cycling strategy.
A new £85m cycling project has been outlined and will bring 55 miles of protected routes and 140 new crossings to roads across Greater Manchester by the end of 2021.
News
Greater Manchester officially launches five-year climate change action plan
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester has officially begun its five-year climate change action plan, with the overarching goal of becoming a net-zero city region by 2038.
The comprehensive pledge put together over a number of years itself will see Manchester City Council and the nearby local authorities put into action a number of key measures that will help to reduce not only central carbon figures but, eventually, across the 10 boroughs in turn.
Over the last 15 years, emissions have been reduced by approximately 64%, saving an estimated 44,344 tonnes of carbon through cleaner building energy, street lighting and other electronics, as well as the increasingly green and over-growing Bee Network.
They have also insisted that it isn’t just about cutting down on greenhouse gases; the aim is to make the city region and the surrounding areas more sustainable, affordable and create a better standard of life.
Our five-year plan to tackle climate change launches today. 🌏
It details how we’ll continue to deliver dramatic reductions in the amount of carbon we emit (the biggest contributor to climate change). 🏙️
As per the summary on the Council website, in addition to creating more efficient homes, they’re hoping to provide more access to nature and good-quality green space, “public transport you can rely on”, and “better health and wellbeing for those who live, work, study and visit here.”
With a steadily recovering local and national economy (touch wood), they’re also hoping for an influx of new jobs, too.
Summarising the key bullet points leading up to the end of the decade, these are the next steps currently outlined by the Council:
Lower carbon emissions
Grow the use of renewable energy
Improve low-carbon travel in the city
Improve air quality
Grow the city’s natural environment and boost biodiversity
Improve resilience to flooding and extreme heat
Engage and involve our workforce and our city’s communities
Reduce waste and grow reuse, repair, sharing and recycling
Support a move to a more circular economy
Minimise the negative impact of events held in the city
Develop our knowledge of our indirect emissions and lower them
Create a green financing strategy and explore new funding models for the city
Influence the environmental practices of other organisations
As for emissions, the target is now to drop the present output by another 34%, which will prevent almost 43,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from being pumped into the atmosphere.
Having touched upon the continued expansion of the Bee Network infrastructure, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is also set to install multiple new travel links over the coming years, including both new tram stops and train stations – further
You can read the climate action plan in full HERE.
Manchester’s firework displays are ‘back with a bang’ as they return from 2026
Emily Sergeant
Council-organised firework displays in Manchester’s parks are set to return from next year, it has been confirmed.
You may remember that these once-popular events have not been held since 2019, as the COVID-19 pandemic initially prevented them from taking place from 2020 onwards, and then following that, they remained paused on a trial basis while the Manchester City Council sought to ‘reprioritise funding’ to support a wider range of free community events across the city.
But now, as it seems, the door was never shut on their potential return.
An ‘improved financial position’ now means that the Council is in a position to bring firework events back, while also still continuing to support other community events.
Papers setting out the Council’s financial position show that fairer funding being introduced by the Government next year will leave the Council better off than previously anticipated, he the reason firework displays have been brought back into the mix.
The Council has admitted that ‘pressures remain’ after so many years of financial cuts, but this new funding creates the opportunity to invest in the things residents have said matter the most to them.
“Manchester prides itself on free community events and we know many people have missed Bonfire night firework spectaculars,” commented Cllr Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council.
“That’s why we are pleased to confirm they’ll be back by popular demand in 2026.
“We know that generations of Mancunians have enjoyed Council-organised displays and that free family events are a great way to bring people together… [and] now that this Government is actually investing in Councils like ours rather than the cuts we had since 2010, we can bring back Bonfire events.”
Sam Ormiston -
1st December 2020 
