Liverpool's green projects win European climate change funding

The money will fund a new green wall similar to the one on Parr Street car park

A series of "greening projects" aimed at complementing "active travel routes" in Liverpool have been awarded European funding, the city council has said.

Money from climate innovation agency EIT Climate-KIC's Sustainable Cities Mobility Challenge will pay for a green wall and hedge planting in the city.

It will also go towards an eco-friendly pavement and native species planting on a disused path.

The council said the city centre schemes would be delivered by summer.

City councils and local authorities across the EU, Switzerland and the UK were invited to submit their proposals for the challenge, which promotes cleaner transport, better air quality and sustainability, and Liverpool was chosen one of five successful applicants from a list of 100 entries.

Cities in Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands will also receive grants.

'Cleaner, greener'

The council said the money would see Liverpool's fourth green wall created on Grafton Street, a new hedge will be planted around St Bride's Church, "environmentally-friendly" paving trialled at the junction of Kent Street and Upper Pitt Street and native species planted along a "currently inaccessible" path on Hill Street.

A representative said they would join 40 green projects which have previously been delivered across the city, which included a pop-up forest, floating eco islands in the docks and a park lake funded by £3.5m from the EU's Horizon 2020 initiative.

EIT Climate-KIC chief executive Kirsten Dunlop said the challenge was about "supporting cities to take bold steps towards achieving their climate ambitions" and she was "thrilled" to be working with Liverpool.

The council's transport director Andy Mollon said it was "committed to creating cleaner, greener, and more people-centred transport options".

"Liverpool prides itself on innovation and we're also looking at a new ways to deliver greener methods in highways construction, so sustainability and how we encourage biodiversity is rooted in everything we do from the materials in our roads to how people travel on them," he added.