The Futures Bright
Wythenshawe Real Lives celebrated its first anniversary with an event at the Concorde Hangar of Manchester Airport where campaign ambassadors toured the iconic passenger airliner.
Wythenshawe: Real Lives campaign launched one year ago to challenge outdated and negative attitudes towards the district in Manchester as well as raising awareness of more than a decade of change through sustained investment (£600million) and regeneration.
The event, hosted by BBC Manchester’s Jimmy Wagg, was a celebration of Wythenshawe and it’s continued growth with more than £152million investment planned for the next few years.
It also provided an opportunity to thank the ambassadors from the campaign.
Ambassadors are people who live, work or invest in Wythenshawe and are actively involved in telling people about the district.
They include a Paralympian athlete, parents, headteachers and business leaders.
Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, addressed business leaders, ambassadors and members of the community as well as welcoming new ambassadors to the campaign.
He said: “In the 12 months since the campaign launched there has been continued investment and already we can see how the future of Wythenshawe is shaping up to be a real success story.
“We have the new academies, continued investment in housing alongside business growth. The campaign has struck a chord with the people of Wythenshawe and it is great to see such a strong sense of pride within the community.”
Brenda Grixti, one of the ambassadors who spoke about being a community champion after just receiving her MBE from HRH Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace was joined by some of the people she works with at Benchill Community Centre.
Brenda said: “I believe strongly in the campaign and have enjoyed being an ambassador. I’ve spent time at the Cheshire Show, given media interviews and spoken to plenty of people about why I’m proud to be from Wythenshawe. Now I’m getting the chance to tour Concorde! We’ve had a bad press and it’s good to be able to focus on the positive things like our award winning green space and community activities.”
Pupils from Newall Green High School and member of the 050 Choir from Wythenshawe performed together, introduced by Dr Jennifer Cleary, head of creative learning at Manchester International Festival.
The event will close with an address by new ambassador Mike Davies, Chairman of Manchester Airport Group.
Many of the businesses represented at the event are based in Wythenshawe and included Virgin Media, University Hospital South Manchester, Bluemantle and Microsoft.
The campaign is funded by a partnership made up of Manchester City Council’s Wythenshawe Regeneration team, Willow Park and Parkway Green Housing Trusts, The Forum, Marketing Manchester and St Modwen.
The event is sponsored by businesses: Drivers Jonas, Ekosgen, GM Procure, Impact, Bluemantle, Rock Door Ltd, G&J Seddon, Hargreaves Construction and Architectural Fibreglass Mouldings.