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Home , City of Salford, Greater Manchester, River Goyt

Greater A Resilient a collection of case studies 2 WELCOME AND FOREWORD

It is with great pleasure that the City of emergency response. At no time in our history will welcomes delegates to the 4th International this be more important than in tackling the Conference on Building Resilience being hosted by challenges posed by climate change. the Centre for Disaster Resilience at the University We are proud to work together with our partners of Salford. across a wide range of public, private, academic and voluntary sectors in addressing the challenges we Resilience is everyone’s business whether you are face, and we are excited about our participation in concerned with understanding the risks we face the ‘Making Cities Resilient: My City Is Getting and how we might reduce them or whether your Ready Campaign!’ and about working with interest is in how we might change the way in which colleagues on a global basis. we live our lives in order to better cope with natural hazards, including in how we design and shape the This document uses the ten themes identified in places in which we live. Floods and other natural the UNISDR making cities resilient checklist to hazards that might once have been extraordinary illustrate just some of the resilience work that has occurrences are in danger of becoming been undertaken across . We commonplace and this raises questions about how are hopeful that this will form the basis of an society prepares for and perceives risks and application to be a Role Model in the making Cities emergencies, how we respond to emergencies Resilient Campaign. I hope you find some of the when they occur and how we support affected case studies both thought-provoking and of direct communities to return to a new normality. relevance to your work.

The , together with the City of I hope you take the opportunity afforded by the Manchester and the eight other that Conference to explore the City of Salford and the make up the City Region of Greater Manchester, surrounding areas of Greater Manchester. I wish have a long history of working together to create a you a successful conference. safe and sustainable place in which to live, work and invest. We have experienced a range of incidents over the centuries which have enabled us to learn and evolve across all areas of risk prevention and Ian Stewart, City

2 3 CONTENTS

Context 5

Making Greater Manchester resilient 6

Essential One: Institutional and administrative 8

Essential Two: Financing and resources 10

Essential Three: Multi-hazard risk assessment-know your risk 12

Essential Four: Infrastructure protection, upgrading and resilience 14

Essential Five: Protect vital facilities: education and health 16

Essential Six: Building regulations and land use planning 19

Essential Seven: Training, education and public awareness 22

Essential Eight: Environmental protection and strengthening of 24 ecosystems

Essential Nine: Effective preparedness, early warning and response 27

Essential Ten: Recovery and rebuilding communities 29

Acknowledgements 31

4 CONTEXT

Greater Manchester is working together for the Making Cities Resilient: 'My city is getting ready!' campaign

Location: Greater Manchester, formed of 10 authorities in the north west of , is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the UK. Designated a city region in 2011 Greater Manchester comprises the cities of Manchester and Salford, together with the metropolitan boroughs of , Bury, , , , , Trafford and . Covering an area of 493 square miles (1,277 km 2), the area contains a mix of high density urban areas, , semi-rural and rural locations.

UK leaders: Home to 2.71 million people, around half (1.33 million) work in over 93,000 Greater Manchester businesses, generating £48 billion GVA – a 4% share of the national economy. Greater Manchester has many unique selling points:

• 1st UK : a unique model of governance to achieve our bold and ambitious plans • 2nd for UK business: outside of London, we are the UK’s main centre for the business, financial & professional services sector, employing 265,000 people • 2nd for UK creativity: we have the UK’s largest cultural and creative cluster outside London, employing 162,000 people including at MediaCityUK, of the BBC & ITV • 2nd for UK : Greater Manchester is the largest travel-to-work area outside London with 7 million people within one hour’s drive of • 3rd for UK visitors: over 1 million international leisure visitors come to Greater Manchester every year, making us the third most popular destination after London and • UK hub airport: we are home to the third largest passenger airport in the UK, with handling more than 20 million passengers per annum and offering flights to more than 200 destinations • International research leaders: we have world leading research and development assets in areas such as advanced materials, health innovation, energy, biotechnology, high performance computing and interactive technology and robotics • Large and international learning population: we have one of the largest student populations in Europe. There are around 105,000 people studying at five Higher Education Institutions, of which 15,000 are international students. The is one of 11 UK universities in the top 100 globally • Growing population: Greater Manchester grew by 7% between 2003 and 2013 • Diverse economic base: key economic sectors include business, financial and professional services; health and social care; creative and digital; education and advanced manufacturing • International sport brands: we host internationally renowned sporting venues such as Manchester United and Manchester City, as well major sporting companies such as Adidas and Umbro and national organisations including British Cycling.

5 MAKING GREATER MANCHESTER RESILIENT

Our Approach: As a 21st century , achieve success. Greater Manchester is a complex modern urban These partnerships are not limited to GM but area. Understanding the natural hazards we could extend their reach to other spatial levels. For face and building resilience into the area to protect example, GM actively participates in the UK’s civil the people who live, work and visit the conurbation protection mechanisms that encourage strong links is fundamental to our continued evolution. We between local and national tiers in emergency undertake a comprehensive risk assessment response, designed to deliver a strong, scaleable process that draws on the UK’s national risk and flexible response to any civil emergencies. assessment framework to identify potential hazards, to implement appropriate mitigation Our Challenges: Situated between the activity and to plan an effective response should an and the Welsh mountains, Greater Manchester emergency occur. contains several large rivers, including the Irwell and the Mersey. Along with the rest of the UK, GM is We also recognise that many strategic agendas are exposed to a number of climate related and severe inextricably linked and that action must be taken weather risks. Flooding is acknowledged as a major across a wide range of policy areas in order to foster hazard, with heat waves, storms, gales and high resilience. An understanding of disaster risk winds presenting further risks. reduction therefore informs many work areas including climate change adaptation, land use Because of Greater Manchester’s standing as a decisions, the creation of sustainable leading UK economic region and due to the high developments, together with community number of people who live within our communities, engagement and information provision. we are dependent upon the robustness of transport, infrastructure, industrial and Additionally, delivery of positive interventions in the environmental services. In our approaches to of disaster risk reduction and in building design, infrastructure maintenance and planning resilience benefits from a shared dialogue with for emergencies, resilience of our infrastructure other areas across the UK. We maintain strong links and its continuity in a disaster is a top priority. to national government and to other areas of the country so that experience held within GM is shared Taking Stock: Being part of the Making Cities across the UK whilst, in turn, GM benefits from best Resilient Campaign has enabled us to reflect on the practice thinking across the country, not just within work we have undertaken in disaster risk reduction. the conurbation. This has helped us to identify good practice and also potential opportunities for further work. Engaging Accountability and Governance: The with other cities, globally, will extend existing and responsibility for disaster risk reduction does not create new relationships where we can share ideas rest with any one sector or organisation. Instead it is and innovation as the international community managed via a strong and experienced collection of responds to the challenge of climate change. partnerships across public, private, academic, voluntary and community sectors. Resilient Future: Greater Manchester recognises the greater successes possible by working together These partnerships recognise that emergencies do across our ten authorities. We are stronger not respect administrative boundaries and that the together - an approach relevant as much at an leadership and strategic planning can be delivered international level as locally. most effectively at a Greater Manchester level then translated into local delivery to drive local solutions Contacts : on the ground. Steve McGuirk, County Fire Officer and Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Forming networks of agencies and businesses to Service, Greater Manchester Resilience Forum Chair address the challenges posed by climate change, the needs of an ambitious growth agenda, together Dr Kathryn Oldham, Head of Civil Contingencies & with developing the capabilities to deal with any Resilience Unit, Association of Greater Manchester emergencies, enables the most effective route to Authorities 6 “… Organisations in Greater Manchester have a long history of working well together to prepare for incidents and emergencies that may affect Greater Manchester’s residents, businesses and visitors. However, the challenges we face together continue to change and mean that emergency responders and communities may need to adapt. Factors such as climate change, international threats and a society that requires interdependent services and infrastructure - and the fact that a problem with any one of those can bring unexpected and unpredictable outcomes - require us to move with …”

Steve McGuirk County Fire Officer and Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, Greater Manchester Resilience Forum Chair

7 ESSENTIAL ONE: INSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK Greater Manchester is an active participant in the across Greater Manchester, which includes creating UK’s comprehensive civil contingencies framework safe and sustainable localities. This partnership designed to understand and reduce disaster risk. approach extends into disaster risk reduction where The framework sets clear roles and responsibilities, collaboration reaches beyond the ten authorities to including statutory provisions, with Greater engage other stakeholders. The two case studies Manchester’s institutions providing leadership at below illustrate this partnership approach in action the local level. As the country’s first city region the firstly through a shared service model and secondly ten council’s within Greater Manchester work through different ways of working together to together for the economic benefit of everyone tackle a specific risk.

Case Study Greater Manchester's emergency responders: planning and 1: responding together Interoperability between agencies lies at the centre This joint service has delivered benefits that of UK emergency response. Furthermore Greater include: Manchester's 10 Boroughs share a common risk • consistent approaches to planning for profile and interconnected infrastructure and emergencies services. Recognising that emergencies will not • a training programme that enables uniform respect administrative borders, committed to procedures and protocols to be implemented delivering an effective response for our across boroughs thereby promoting cross- communities and with a long history of deployment of resources in a crisis collaboration, three years ago Greater Manchester's • an exercise programme rolled out across ten local authorities established a shared civil different areas to meet collective objectives. contingencies service to lead emergency planning and to provide expertise in emergency response. In emergency response the CCRU offers wide-area horizon scanning; expert advice and can share the The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities lessons identified from similar scenarios. Civil Contingencies & Resilience Unit (CCRU) is funded by all ten councils and its governance With Greater Manchester recognising the strength structure includes a board with chief officer in partnership working, the CCRU is co-located with representation from each authority. This board Greater Manchester Police. The facility is commissions work and scrutinises performance. configured so that Greater Manchester Fire & The Unit's structure includes Business Partners who Rescue Service, National Health Service and North work with individual authorities to ensure their West Ambulance Service can also work from this business needs are reflected in the work of the Unit location. Working together to anticipate and plan and that the authorities benefit from the plans and for emergencies is reflected in delivery of an response tools on offer. integrated emergency response for Greater Manchester's communities. 8 Case Study Working together to mitigate and respond to the risk of fire 2: at waste transfer sites In August 2013 a fire began at a waste transfer site • planning for new sites - new processes have close to junction 25 (Stockport) off the M60 been agreed to identify suitable land for new motorway. The site stored thousands of tonnes of sites and statutory consultees will assist in flammable waste and Greater Manchester’s developing conditions to be applied to the emergency services worked tirelessly for 21 days to granted thereby promoting extinguish the fire and to protect local safe operation of the site communities. • joint enforcement - although public agencies As pre-agreed by the Greater Manchester initially work with site owners to promote safe Resilience Forum, the conurbation-wide working practices, should enforcement actions partnership which co-ordinates civil contingencies become necessary, partners have reviewed the activity, those organisations involved in tackling the powers available to them and established how fire came together in the aftermath of the incident they may be co-ordinated to effectively take to identify lessons learned and to recommend action to reduce risks on site future actions. • strengthened response - taking the lessons As a result three new and collective ways of working learned from several fires at waste transfer sites have been developed to mitigate the risk of fire at in Greater Manchester, a joint plan has been such sites and to respond if fires do occur: agreed to capture successful strategies for minimising the health, environmental and economic impacts of such fires.

9 ESSENTIAL TWO: FINANCING AND RESOURCES

Greater Manchester’s population is the fastest recover from emergencies is therefore high on our growing in the UK which presents many agenda. Our approach includes carefully targeted opportunities. However there are also challenges: investment and initiatives. The two case studies an ageing population, concentrations of below demonstrate how vulnerable residents are unemployment and low skills, and changes to the being helped in Trafford to avoid preventable UK welfare system. Increasing the self-reliance of deaths in cold winters and being helped in Salford our people and fostering community resilience so to access funds to make better life choices. that people are better able to withstand and

Case Study Trafford’s warm homes 3: healthy people project During the cold winter months those on low • assessments to ensure people are accessing the incomes can suffer fuel poverty, meaning they right support and services cannot afford to keep themselves warm given their • training to winter champions and other income. This can lead them, together with other volunteers to ensure there are more people in vulnerable people, to suffer ill health and, in some the community with knowledge on tackling fuel cases, possibly contribute to early deaths. debt, heating repairs and draught-proofing and who can also respond in emergencies and give Together with its partners, Trafford Council has first aid responded to this challenge by investing in a Warm • winter chill packs containing practical support Homes Healthy People project. Committed to such as extreme temperature, smoke and carbon ensuring Trafford residents remain safe, healthy and monoxide detectors, together with essential warm during the winter, the project supports 300 – items to keep vulnerable people warm such as 400 people every year. Through a network of winter hot water bottles, soups, socks and hats champion volunteers the project aims to identify at • an emergency heat scheme with heaters on loan risk vulnerable people and offers: so vulnerable people who experience heating problems have instant access to a source of heat • a helpline providing information, signposting to until repairs are carried out and with an sources of assistance and access to other emergency fund available for people in crisis but services ineligible for funding assistance under other schemes.

10 Case Study Salford Credit Union: 4: supporting financial resilience Formed 25 years ago as Mandley Saving and New modern products include: Loans, Salford Credit Union now has a membership of 4,200, serving people living or working in Salford • electronic BACS transfers and standing order and parts of . These communities payments giving members access to service live in some of the most economically deprived arrangements that are offered by mainstream areas of Greater Manchester, with high levels of financial providers worklessness, poor health, social and financial • pre-paid Visa Debit cards giving members vulnerability. access to the mainstream ‘card economy’ • paypoint cards widening the locations at which Salford Credit Union offers its services to low and members can pay in loan repayments or savings middle income communities, irrespective of • new loan products broadening the appeal of the economic status, providing a vital lifeline to poorer credit union, including ‘Child Benefit loans’ people that enables them to be financially resilient. popular with single parents and ‘payroll loans’ Services include: targeted at trusted partner organisations to help maintain the income balance of membership • a savings facility with all members opening a which credit unions require for financial savings account which develops regular savings sustainability. habits and gives more control over finances, especially when many members do not have a Improvements such as these have led to the largest traditional bank account growth in membership in the credit union’s history • low cost loans which can be offered when other with over 700 new members in 2012/13 alone and lenders might not and that are cheaper than in 2013 the credit union won the national Edward most commercial competitors and the big Filene Credit Union Award for Partnership Working. banks, with many loans requested of less than £1,000.

Responding to a rapidly changing financial climate, over the last two years Salford Credit Union has radically transformed itself with a new board, new name and new management.

11 ESSENTIAL THREE: MULTI-HAZARD RISK ASSESSMENT - KNOW YOUR RISK The UK risk assessment process is designed to expertise drawn from many organisations within assess the likelihood and impact of particular the conurbation. The outcome is used to inform events or situations which might threaten serious strategic decision-making, prioritise the damage to human welfare, the environment or development of capabilities to respond to crises security of the UK. This process is repeated at a and to inform communities of the risks that may local level to ensure planning is proportionate to affect them. The following case study describes a the risks faced and that resources are invested project carried out in collaboration with the wisely in risk mitigation and preparation for University of Manchester and Bruntwood to offer foreseeable crises. Greater Manchester has a easy access for everyone to understand the local robust risk assessment process in place informed by impacts of climate change.

12 Case Study EcoCities: Greater Manchester 5: plans for climate adaptation The EcoCities Project: a joint initiative between the Research themes: good decision making is enabled University of Manchester's School of Environment by developing a better understanding of risk, and Development and property company supported by forward looking research and Bruntwood, the EcoCities project looks at the underpinned by a strong evidence base. EcoCities impacts of climate change and at how we can adapt has been organised into five research themes: our cities to the challenges and opportunities that a changing climate presents. Although we cannot • weather and climate trends and projections, predict how Greater Manchester's businesses and enabling adaptation responses to be created communities will evolve, change can be expected, which are targeted at locally relevant climate and this will influence how the city region is impacts and risks impacted by a changing climate and also how it is • impacts of weather and climate, both in terms of able to response. Encompassing the concept of recent trends and patterns of climate events and building adaptive capacity, EcoCities is an their recorded impacts together with projecting interdisciplinary research project concerned with forward considering future climate change helping cities to develop the skills, knowledge and • vulnerability to climate change of infrastructure expertise necessary to adapt to the impacts of and urban communities climate change. • adaptation responses and outputs that build adaptive capacity Headline Messages: time for action, time to adapt: • scenarios and futures that explore how the EcoCities provides support to stakeholders and conurbation might evolve and adapt to the decision makers, via research outputs, to enable changing climate recognising changes to them to kick-start action across three headline population characteristics, land use patterns and themes: dominant economic sectors will influence how weather and climate events impact on the • safeguarding our future prosperity - building Greater Manchester conurbation resilience to the changing climate into Greater Manchester will safeguard prosperity and growth Understanding Risk: The EcoCities Spatial Portal: the • protecting the most vulnerable in society - good, geographies of urban areas vary greatly, for robust adaptation in urban areas has a key focus example, in their local climate, land cover, on people and communities population characteristics, and distribution of • building the resilience of our essential critical, social and transport infrastructures. infrastructure - a city's infrastructure is critical to Such varying characteristics influence how areas will its future prosperity and quality of life be affected by climate change and shape the complexity of the spatial distribution of risks and vulnerability. The Spatial Portal is an interactive online mapping platform that displays spatial data and provides information to improve understanding of these issues in Greater Manchester. The Spatial Portal can be accessed through the Adapting Manchester website www.adaptingmanchester.co.uk.

13 ESSENTIAL FOUR: INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION, UPGRADING AND RESILIENCE In Greater Manchester’s Strategy: Stronger partnerships in Greater Manchester that influence Together we set out a vision for living quality lives in resilience, including the Greater Manchester quality places with infrastructure that creates and Resilience Forum. strengthens local, national and international connections. We also recognise the importance of The two case studies below are themed around the energy, water, waste and digital infrastructure, built environment. The first explores how an iconic together with the blue and green infrastructure of building that is part of Greater Manchester’s the natural environment, in supporting growth, in cultural heritage has been transformed to improve creating attractive places where people want to its resilience alongside strengthening its invest, work and live, and in promoting environmental performance, whilst the second independent and resilient communities. Our describes how the police have brought a new lease partners who build, invest in and maintain our of life to derelict land that is part of the flood plain. infrastructure are key members of many of the

Case Study 6: Trafford Town Hall Trafford Town Hall is an historic 1930’s Grade II Green Apple Award for Built Environment 2014 from listed building that which, together with its 1980s The Green Organisation, an independent extension, was by 2009 in desperate need of repair. environmental group dedicated to recognising, In order to protect the heritage infrastructure of the rewarding and promoting environmental best building whilst upgrading it for modern use and practice around the world. improving its green credentials the council enlisted architects 5Plus to restore and renew the building. The building has also been awarded the RIBA North West Regional Award 2014; RIBA North West The result is a high quality new building set Sustainable Building of the Year Award 2014; Civic beautifully against a carefully restored old building, Trust Commendation 2014; Mixology North Award offering a high quality work environment for staff 2013 – Public Sector Interior Project and has been and encompassing public spaces such as a café and shortlisted for the AJ Retrofit Award 2013 – Civic and library area. Community Category.

The 3 office wings are naturally ventilated and Speaking about the development, the Leader of attract a good amount of daylight. The entire Trafford Council says: “this project gives us an building, including the listed town hall, has achieved opportunity to open up one of the borough’s most a BREEAM rating of excellent and the building also iconic buildings so that the community and not just features areas of sustainable urban drainage. Award the council can use and benefit from the space”. winning, the building has secured the International

14 Case Study 7: A new Police Station for Bury Situated close to the birthplace of Sir Robert Peel margin of 0.6m above anticipated flood levels for who is regarded as the father of modern policing, in the finished ground floor, ensuring that the building June 2010 a new Police Headquarters opened in will remain operational during a flood event. The Bury. One unique aspect of this build was that it was main access road has also been raised above constructed on what was then derelict land which anticipated flood levels, although one car park and had been identified by the Environment Agency as a part of an access road may experience some flood plain with a risk of significant flooding. flooding in more severe events. Other flood Recognising the importance of the building’s mitigation strategies have been implemented resilience and the priority for it to remain functional, including land drainage improvements and the even in flood conditions, the architects, structural deepening of a pond with back flow drainage engineers, building contractors and Environment protection. Agency worked jointly with the local authority planning department to enable this site to be In addition to protecting the building, its occupants developed safely. and its services in times of flooding, the £16 million headquarters also includes ecological features such Their answer was to construct foundations which as a rainwater recovery system for external use such extend 1.5m above ground level, providing a safety as cleaning police vehicles.

15 ESSENTIAL FIVE: PROTECT VITAL FACILITIES: EDUCATION AND HEALTH Schools and healthcare premises are a vital part of Our health services are recognised as being critical the fabric of Greater Manchester that enables the to risk identification and mitigation and to conurbation to remain resilient. In 2009 and 2010, emergency response. As such, specific structures Greater Manchester experienced some of the most exist at Greater Manchester and borough level to severe winter weather in over 30 years. Schools lead health sector emergency preparedness, played a key role in looking after young people, resilience and response. The Greater Manchester including some of the most vulnerable children, Local Health Resilience Partnership coordinates whilst also affording childcare to parents who borough level activity and ensures the health sector needed to be at work to deliver essential services. is fully engaged in work undertaken by the Greater The winters demonstrated the interconnected Manchester Resilience Forum. nature of many public services. Keeping schools open enabled healthcare services to remain running The three case studies below illustrate the at a time of high demand since the health sector has importance attached to building safe schools and to been shown to be disproportionately affected by keeping schools and hospitals running whatever staff absences if parents are required to take time challenges they face. off to care for their children who are not in school.

Case Study Protecting children in Lower Broughton, 8: Salford Occupied since Roman times, the Lower Broughton emergency access route running a metre above area of Salford lies within the flood plain of the River ground level for approximately 90 metres from the Irwell. Protected by flood walls and the added flood school to a place of safety for the children and their defence of the Littleton Road flood storage basin, teachers. A flood basin was created within the the area remains at risk of flooding. Over recent adjacent Ascension park area and the opportunity years the area has been comprehensively was taken to enhance biodiversity with a wetland redeveloped. habitat area, a woodland play area and a natural play area using natural features such as organically This transformation involved the replacement of shaped sand pits, boulders, bark areas and timber two local primary schools with a new state of the art bridges over smooth stoned river beds. primary school. Addressing the flood risk head on was a critical consideration in the design of the River View Primary School opened in September school for which the use of new technologies and 2011 for children aged 3 to 11 and, in addition to outdoor learning spaces were fundamental to their the school holding traditional fire drills for the 21st century teaching and learning offer. children and staff, an additional annual drill is organised to rehearse flood evacuation procedures. To mitigate the risk of flooding River View Primary School was built on stilts with a higher level escape /

16 Case Study Keeping schools open 9: for business in Bury Bury is committed to keeping its schools open Schools also receive a bi-monthly newsletter that during crises and the Council offers a bespoke sets out current risks and focuses on a particular resilience service, organised over a four year cycle, resilience topic. to support schools in putting arrangements in place so that they are prepared for an emergency. In their second year in the scheme schools are offered a template for business continuity planning During the first year after having signed up for the and are encouraged to develop more service, a school is helped to put the basic building comprehensive business continuity plans. These are blocks in place to create a sound resilient then validated in year three through table-top foundation. This includes: exercises that are also designed to test longer term business continuity strategies. Following this, • identifying their crisis management team and schools will have robust business continuity key task managers, together with assigning them arrangements in place and in year four they are clear roles and responsibilities offered a formal audit to check on progress and • developing evacuation procedures including make recommendations for further action. identifying off-site muster points and mapping potential places of safety The service has been running for five years and has • identifying local risks arising outside of the seen a steady growth in the number of schools school participating with over 85% of the borough’s • receipt of resilience messages from an schools now buying into the service. alert/warning messaging system, for example, advising of predicted severe weather

17 Case Study Stepping Hill, Stockport: 10: a resilient hospital The Stockport NHS Foundation Trust’s approach to academic knowledge. Because the decision making emergency planning and business continuity is model can be applied to virtually any situation, unusual but has been extremely successful: unusual developing decision making competence means because it is markedly different from how hospitals that guidance documents and generic plans form commonly address emergency planning and part of the knowledge base but don’t restrict the successful because the Trust has achieved flexibility of decision making necessary to resolve accreditation against ISO 22301:2012 (Business business continuity events. Continuity Management). The Trust has put in place a robust system of The Stepping Hill approach is based on the premise training and exercising with all senior staff trained as that emergency preparedness, resilience and part of their induction on a 1:1 basis, training that is response is a collective responsibility and not periodically refreshed. All business groups within something that rests solely with an emergency the hospital undertake an annual business planning officer. Furthermore, it is accepted that it continuity exercise with trained managers leading isn’t possible to have a plan for every conceivable the response in their respective areas of type of emergency and so staff are trained to use a responsibility to develop their command decision making model that provides a logical competence. Once every three years a major, approach to the management of any type and/or multi-agency exercise is undertaken. scale of problem. Stockport NHS Foundation Trust has therefore Using this decision making model as a central tool established and maintained a workable but for incident response also simplifies training. nonetheless fully auditable management approach Competence is judged as a combination of to business continuity that is tested on the ground knowledge, skills and understanding with the almost daily as incidents occur and demonstrate emphasis on practical application rather than that the decision making model works in practice.

18 ESSENTIAL SIX: BUILDING REGULATIONS AND LAND USE PLANNING The local authorities in Greater Manchester work All 10 authorities have produced Core within the UK's comprehensive legislative Strategies/Local Plans, which provide our key framework. Each is a Local Planning Authority statutory land use plans for the 10 authority areas, responsible for producing statutory development and the work we are doing together at a Greater plans and dealing with planning applications, and Manchester level will inform future work and help us each is a Building Control Authority responsible for to ensure that the planning work we do is resilient in dealing with building regulations (in the UK terms of future development requirements. developers can also utilise the services of an approved inspector). Our administrative boundaries We have to plan taking into account future do not always reflect our places (for example the infrastructure needs, and we have to make sure that City Centre is shared between Manchester and the right development happens in the right places. Salford), so joint working and cooperation is The challenges of climate change (including the especially important in land use and spatial need to plan for adaptation), and the challenge of planning. growth, mean that we have to ensure that our land use plans are up to date and regularly reviewed, and The Greater Manchester Strategy is planning for in this way resilience issues can be effectively significant economic growth in future years, and we addressed. are developing an evidence base which will set out how much land we will need for housing and An example of how infrastructure expansion can employment growth into the early 2030's. We are itself be a driver of change is explored in the next also commissioning major work supported by case study, followed by an example of how climate national government to look at how we can plan change considerations are being incorporated into more effectively for future infrastructure planning policy. requirements.

19 Case Study 11 : Metrolink and regeneration A key catalyst for change, Greater Manchester’s The improved transport links complement and add Metrolink expansion is linking Oldham to transport resilience to the existing transport infrastructure. hubs across the region and is transforming the This investment also encourages businesses to base perception of the town. With ten stops across the themselves in the borough, opens up job borough, over 250,000 passengers have used the opportunities across Greater Manchester for service since it opened in 2012, enjoying Oldham residents and ensures that our ambitions connections to Rochdale, Central Manchester and, for future land use and the town’s regeneration can shortly, to Manchester Airport. be realised.

20 Case Study Shaping the built environment to meet the challenges of 12: climate change Greater Manchester has ambitious targets to • demonstrate how the layout and orientation take address the challenges of climate change as set out account of landform, massing and landscaping in our Climate Change Strategy (2011-2020). In to minimise energy consumption 2012 Rochdale adopted a Climate Change • in use of materials, structure and construction Adaptation Supplementary Planning Document techniques mitigate against the impact on (SPD) that: climate change • demonstrate good environmental performance • identifies some key impacts of climate change on in areas such as ventilation, composting and the built environment waste management and the provision of bird and • describes changes needed to our existing built bat boxes environment • incorporate green roofs and walls • explores approaches needed to new • reduce demands on the water network through development efficient water management • outlines considerations for developers seeking • consider flood risk management including planning permission sustainable urban drainage systems • include value adding green and blue Developments must now: infrastructure.

• consider the location and the impacts on infrastructure, biodiversity and open space together with constraints such as flood risk

21 ESSENTIAL SEVEN: TRAINING, EDUCATION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS Greater Manchester’s emergency responders will communities requires people to know about the always have to prioritise those in greatest need risks to which they may be exposed. Greater during an emergency, focusing their efforts where Manchester lists 64 specific risks on its community life is in danger. There will be times when risk register and has a mature community individuals and communities are affected by an engagement programme in place. The following emergency but are not in immediate danger and will three case studies illustrate how our education have to look after themselves and each other for a programmes are delivered in people’s homes, in our period until any necessary external assistance can schools and in partnership with our communities. be provided. Supporting self-reliance in Case Study 13: Safer homes, safer people Every year 60,000 home fire risk assessments are With the average cost of a fire in a domestic carried out in Greater Manchester by the Greater property topping £24,900 and with over 2,330 Manchester Fire & Rescue Service to ensure residential fires across Greater Manchester in the residents benefit from the protection of a smoke last year alone, community education has proved to detector and are offered a home safety check. The be a valuable tool in improving survival rates and in safety check allows experienced fire fighters to reducing the level of severe injury. Since the provide people with information and advice to introduction of this programme, Greater improve safety in their homes, whether this is Manchester has seen a 33% decrease in fires. This reducing potential sources of fire or planning reflects an even greater saving in personal and bedtime checks and escape routes. community losses.

22 Case Study 14: Keeping children safe A nationally recognised leader in community winter • material to demonstrate different types of resilience, delivers a schools weather conditions. resilience programme to help children understand • discussion through group work risks and how they can keep themselves safe. The • creation of a family evacuation plan programme gives children information and • design of a ‘family grab bag’ that would provide a promotes safe behaviours in extreme weather family with essential items in an emergency conditions, together with actively building community resilience through encouraging children Each school also receives a resource pack full of to share safety messages with other members of awareness raising materials including Greater their families. Manchester’s ‘Get Ready for the Unexpected’ booklet. The programme offers school visits during which civil contingencies officers share their expertise in spotting potential dangers in extreme weather. A range of educational tools are used including:

Case Study Communities prepare for 15: flash flooding Sitting in the foothills of the Pennines, some parts of • working with all relevant the agencies involved Rochdale carry a risk of flash flooding. Flood with managing flood risk to give community defences help protect communities alongside the context and property-level flood defences have • forming river watch groups of local people who been installed in some areas however work is can give on the ground updates to public ongoing to further strengthen individual and agencies about the river community resilience. • running public awareness and engagement events to publicise the scheme One of 13 projects across the country funded • working with local charities, youth and faith through the Defra (Department for Environment groups to ensure a wide reach of communication Food and Rural Affairs) flood resilience community • engaging with businesses to give them access to pathfinder scheme, communities in east central free help and guidance on how to be more Rochdale and Heywood are being supported in: resilient to flooding.

• setting up action groups of local people to highlight community priorities and lobby for change 23 ESSENTIAL EIGHT: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND STRENGTHENING ECOSYSTEMS Although home to a 21st century urban core assets. All this is in addition to the protective role it Greater Manchester also contains spectacular plays in risk reduction and a sustainable future. countryside. This precious resource brings great benefits and we must protect and enhance our blue The following four case studies explore sustainable and green infrastructure to improve the quality of environmental management in the heart of one of life for our residents. The natural environment also our cities, protection of fragile habitats in upland contributes significantly to our economic resilience catchment areas, sensitive use of environmental through creating attractive places where people assets to support community resilience and looking want to invest and work, through its role in the to the future through raising children’s awareness visitor economy and through the creation of jobs of the importance of environmental protection. and businesses that support our green and blue Case Study 16: A greener, cleaner Manchester Supporting grassroots community groups to lead • supporting community clean-ups to tackle the restoration, protection and sustainable problem areas management of their local environment has been a • providing compost bins and educating allotment priority in achieving a greener, cleaner Manchester. owners in their use to increase allotment An investment of £14.5 million is tackling local composting. environmental problems, increasing the green space within the city and strengthening the city’s urban ecosystems.

Example projects include:

• utilising vacant and underdeveloped pockets of land for community allotments or temporary orchards • transforming local parks by creating wildflower meadows, improving biodiversity and enhancing lakes and other water sources to offer better wetland habitats • planting semi-mature trees on urban streets and in parks to provide natural cooling, assist in managing surface water run-off and help to mitigate further climate change • creating community gardens as bio-diverse green space at the heart of our communities

24 Case Study SCaMP – sustainable catchment management 17: programme To protect the quality of water entering reservoirs Responding to these long term trends, United and, in turn, the water supply of areas including Utilities in partnership with the RSPB, Natural Greater Manchester, owns over England and Forestry Commission has invested 56,000 hectares of land in the North West of millions in SCaMP. This project is restoring England. Used for agricultural purposes by tenant , establishing new woodlands, creating hay farmers as well as providing a home to some of the meadows and protecting watercourses to the UK’s most amazing wildlife, much of this land benefit both water and wildlife. contains nationally significant wildlife habitats with around 30% designated as a Site of Special The outcomes of this innovative project are allowing Scientific Interest. the moorland habitat to become more resilient to long term climate change and enabling active peat These fragile upland catchment habitats have been forming vegetation to increase the rate at which damaged by historic industrial air pollution, these areas can absorb carbon from the agricultural activities and climate change. atmosphere.

Case Study Children lead the way in creating an environmentally- 18: friendly Wigan With 124 (94%) of schools signed up to the The Eco-Schools programme fits into virtually all international Eco-Schools programme, Wigan has aspects of the curriculum and helps to make the third highest percentage uptake of Eco-Schools learning, both inside and outside the classroom, fun in the whole of the UK. Our pupils are the driving and engaging. The results have seen schools in force behind the programme, forming and leading Wigan transformed with: Eco-Committees to: • vegetable patches created • audit their school’s environmental performance • recycling schemes stepped up to include • decide with fellow pupils and the local composting community their priorities for action • nest boxes, bug hotels and hedgehog houses • design and implement environmental projects installed • showcase their successes to let others see what • solar panels donated by local businesses can be done Through offering educational activities and celebrating children’s achievements, Wigan is investing in the future stewards of the natural environment.

25 Case Study Community resilience through 19: hydro-electric generation The twin Archimedes screws, Thunder and The project has been funded primarily by a Lightening, can be found at Otterspool Weir on the community share offer, with supporting grants and near Marple, Stockport. They are part of loans. Members come from far and wide, all sharing Greater Manchester's first community-owned a common interest in community-based schemes hydro-electric project, producing renewable energy to generate renewable energy. Those members who at Stockport Hydro. Feeding electricity into the UK’s own the scheme will be entitled to receive dividends national grid, this scheme is designed to ensure when it is in profit. Already it is expected that there is no damage to the river’s eco-systems whilst Stockport Hydro will generate enough clean, green contributing to a reduced carbon footprint and energy to power about 60 homes, 30% more than

potentially generating income to invest in other originally anticipated, saving over 100 tonnes of CO 2 community projects. per year – that’s over 4,000 tonnes during the estimated 40 year life of the project! The two Archimedes screws can operate independently and at variable speeds meaning they can generate power even at times of low water levels: a first for schemes such as this.

26 ESSENTIAL NINE: EFFECTIVE PREPAREDNESS, EARLY WARNING AND RESPONSE Long before the UK introduced the Civil enable partners to work together whilst Contingencies Act 2004, organisations in Greater understanding one another’s roles and Manchester had been working together to prepare responsibilities, regularly exercised plans and the for emergencies. In order to protect life, the development of trained and well-rehearsed environment and property should an emergency capabilities. The following case studies illustrate arise, partners have worked assiduously to create a how services have been redesigned to address the firm foundation for any response. This includes changing risks of severe weather and how thorough risk assessments and horizon scanning, organisations are investing in modern facilities from agreed command and control arrangements that which to lead any emergency response.

Case Study Transforming services to help 20: communities throughout the winter Wigan Council has been at the national forefront of • working with partners such as the Greater re-engineering its winter maintenance service, Manchester Fire & Rescue Service to provide investing in new capabilities and engaging with support to vulnerable people, whether this is communities and partners. Run by a dedicated checking if they need assistance or clearing snow winter maintenance team which operates 24 hours • deploying equipment on Wigan’s roads and a day over the winter months from a fully equipped, highways, including 11 state of the art versatile high-tech depot that can double as an emergency gritting vehicles which operate from a brand new control centre, the new service supports Wigan’s 4,000 tonne capacity salt barn communities right through from the first prediction • ensuring access is maintained on priority routes of severe weather to any clear-up operation. This is and to critical services such as hospitals and fire achieved through: stations • providing accurate and timely advice through • using early warning systems to activate partners multiple communication channels to residents, and to implement precautionary measures to motorists and businesses. maintain safety and minimise disruption across the borough Earlier this year, in recognition of its partnership • supplementing the winter maintenance team by approach to service transformation, Wigan Council up to 300 staff from across the council if their was a finalist for the National Municipal Journal Best help is needed Achieving Council award.

27 Case Study 21: Prepared to respond In 2013/14 the refurbishment of As a fully equipped, fully furnished, high tech provided the opportunity to relocate and upgrade command centre, capable of facilitating the the emergency control centre, the council’s nerve council’s tactical response to an emergency incident, centre in any emergency response. Realising the the new centre has been tested for real in a series of benefits of co-locating with services such as the incidents. These have demonstrated the value of town centre CCTV service, the new facility offers: investing in a modern command centre with the council and its partners better able to assist Bolton’s • a state of the art working area where staff can communities whatever the challenges faced. work together using real time intelligence • additional space to enable stronger working with partner organisations through co-location • better systems to enable council staff to work across different service areas, ensuring people receive a seamless service from the council • improved resilience with less likelihood of the command centre being inside any emergency cordon established in the town centre

28 ESSENTIAL TEN: RECOVERY AND REBUILDING COMMUNITIES Recovery from an emergency is built into Greater recovery phase and to commission work to address Manchester’s plans and although command and the longer-term needs of affected communities. control structures will be established to manage the immediate response to an emergency, within 24 The following two case studies demonstrate this hours of the crisis starting, a multi-agency Recovery interweaving of response and recovery during an Coordinating Group will be set up. This group brings infectious disease outbreak, together with the together senior decision makers from a range of practical support that can be offered to support organisations. It is designed to start a strategic business recovery after an incident. appraisal of the issues that will be important in the

Case Study Recovering from measles: a story of 22: improved prevention Dr Mary Ramsay, Public Health England's head of • an effective information campaign that used immunisation is clear that "measles is a potentially multiple channels including the printed press, fatal, but entirely preventable, disease" yet in 2013, social media and advice from healthcare boroughs in Greater Manchester were seeing some professionals of the highest levels of measles cases for nearly 20 • family doctors reviewing their records to invite years. The response was swift with public health children who were not fully immunised to have practitioners aiming not only to contain the the MMR vaccine outbreak but to ensure communities were left in a • the offer of vaccination to vulnerable groups by stronger position to withstand similar challenges in targeting children at school the future. • locally delivered immunisation clinics

Potential contributory factors to the measles The opportunity was also taken to strengthen the outbreak were public perceptions about measles resilience of the population to other infections by being a minor condition and parents being offering other missed vaccinations such as tetanus, concerned about the safety of the Measles, Mumps diphtheria and polio. and Rubella (MMR) vaccine after it was wrongly linked to autism and bowel disease in the 1990s. Public health services, by working together across This led the virus to spread mainly amongst local authorities and health services using locally unvaccinated school children. designed responses, have seen measles cases drop significantly with no measles cases reported in Response and recovery are at their best when the Greater Manchester in December 2013. affected community have a high degree of self- Furthermore, information campaigns have ensured determination in how they react and this response that local communities are now more aware of the ensured communities were supported in making dangers of measles and are more likely to respond good health choices through locally designed to a future outbreak. interventions including:

29 Case Study 23: Business recovery in Tameside In February 2014 Greater Manchester received a With the local economy of the area being affected, national severe weather warning advising of winds the council put a range of measures in place to help at up to 80 mph. Strong gusts began at around 5pm business owners maintain their livelihoods and to and at 7pm Greater Manchester Police declared a keep the small businesses within the community. major incident. The wind strengths caused Business recovery was supported as the council, the widespread structural damage, bringing down trees Health and Safety Executive and the mill owner and also leading to loss of power supplies. worked with businesses to safely salvage valuable goods and assets. Business units within the One of the buildings damaged during the high community were also made available to businesses winds was a 100 year old mill in Dukinfield, with the first 6 months of the tenancy offered rent- Tameside. The mill was to the back of a row of free to support continued trading. residential terraced housing and housed many business units. With the building’s structural The incident continued for over 90 days and in the integrity compromised, an evacuation of the many end the mill had to be demolished. The council is small businesses from the premises began, together now working with the land owner to plan how best with evacuation of adjacent residential properties to redevelop the land, maintaining its small business until the mill could be made safe. focus.

30 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The AGMA Civil Contingencies & Resilience Unit would like to acknowledge the tremendous assistance of colleagues and partners across Greater Manchester whose support has made this collection of case studies possible. Particular thanks are due to Watch Manager Steve Jordan from Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service and Inspector Jon Percival from Greater Manchester Police who have worked with dedication and determination to produce this document.

31 Stronger Together

Greater Manchester’s vision is to be financially self-sustaining by 2020, as set out in the Greater Manchester Strategy, Stronger Together – created by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in 2011. Realising this ambition requires change, and our Growth and Reform Plan is how we will achieve this.

Joining the UNISDR Making Cities Resilient: My city is getting ready campaign! is one part of this plan, alongside many other initiatives – in areas such as transport, health, business support, skills, public service and education – which are working across Greater Manchester to deliver this vision and to create a truly great Greater Manchester.

The Greater Manchester Strategy can be found at http://www.agma.gov.uk/gmca/gms_2013/index.html