This Clean Air Month during May we take a look at some green developments around the city.
Improvements have been happening all around Manchester to make the air we breathe cleaner and the world we live in greener! In celebration of Clean Air Month this year two momentous projects have taken place in Manchester, Bury Housing Services’ tree planting and the on-going developments in The Bee Network, Greater Manchester’s sustainable public transport system.
Bury Housing Services is working with City of Trees, the community forest for Greater Manchester, to plant more trees in Chesham. These will complement the solar panels which have been installed on a number of properties on the estate, to provide tenants with warmer, healthier and cheaper homes. The scheme meant that some trees had to removed – however, they have been replaced by five trees for every one lost.
Estimates show that the solar panels and extra trees will cut carbon emissions by nearly 500 tonnes over the next 25 years. Councillor Clare Cummins, cabinet member for housing services, said: “This is a win-win for everyone. Tenants’ homes are better insulated, and their fuel bills are reduced, while greenhouse gases are cut and local neighbourhoods are greener.”
Bury is also being connected by the new Bee Network buses which are all 100% electric vehicles! Not only has Manchester has made a commitment to clean air by using EVs, but it has also aimed to make public transport more efficient and accessible meaning less energy used per traveller.
The Bee Network is Greater Manchester’s vision for an integrated, accessible, and affordable ‘London-style’ transport system, which will change the way people travel across the city region. It launched with the successful implementation of the first phase of bus franchising across Wigan, Bolton, and parts of Bury and Salford.
Reports published weekly show that Bee Network bus services continue to be more reliable than before bus franchising and are outperforming services elsewhere in Greater Manchester. Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, Vernon Everitt – who visited the depot to mark the electrification completion, alongside representatives from First Bus, said: “These state-of-the-art vehicles will provide better and cleaner journeys for all bus passengers. Our ambitions for a fully electric bus fleet will help make Greater Manchester a greener and healthier place for everyone.”
Since its launch, there are currently 50 new zero emission buses, with more on their way for summer this year and around 120 others in January 2025 – with more still to follow – as Greater Manchester strives to deliver a fully electric bus fleet by 2032. Data available for the first 50 vehicles currently in service shows they have travelled 925,000 miles, equating to a saving of 1,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.