Manchester City Council speaks on housing and levelling up at our event this month

Above - CGI of proposed new housing at South Collyhurst, Manchester (Manchester City Council / FEC)

New housing for Manchester will be discussed at our levelling up event in the city this June. Cllr Gavin White, Executive Member for Housing and Development at Manchester City Council will be speaking on this topic.

Plans have been submitted (April 2022) by Manchester City Council and Far East Consortium (FEC) to build 30 brand new homes for social rent as part of wider regeneration plans in the Collyhurst area.

The Council says the plans follow extensive consultation and engagement with local residents and will incorporate a mix of townhouses and low-rise apartments, with low carbon family housing central to the designs:

'The proposals include 14 three-bedroom houses, 4 three-bedroom duplex apartments, 1 two-bedroom duplex apartment, and 11 two-bedroom apartments. 'The new homes are in addition to 244 homes (including 100 for social rent) currently being considered for approval by the Local Planning Authority as part of the joint venture’s neighbouring Collyhurst Village development – plans for which include a new 1.3 hectare park.

'The masterplan for Collyhurst Village also includes almost 2,000 square feet of neighbourhood-focused commercial and retail space as the joint venture partnership looks to improve community assets and provide new inclusive public realm spaces for Collyhurst residents. More than 450 trees are expected to be planted as part of a network of green links to the surrounding village.'

A separate planning application for Collyhurst Village was submitted in February. Enabling works for the scheme, supported by the government’s £400 million Brownfield Housing Fund and delivered by Manchester contractor LK Group, have begun on site. The two new neighbourhoods developments are part of the wider £4bn (GDV) Victoria North project (formerly known as the Northern Gateway project) which will deliver up to 15,000 new homes while rejuvenating disused land over the next 15 years.

Cllr Gavin White, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and employment, said:

"We had some great feedback from the local community when we consulted on this scheme earlier in the year and we are moving quickly to fulfil our commitment to regeneration in this part of the city, building the affordable homes local people need. We know it’s going to help make a real difference to people’s lives, now and in the future.”

In January, Manchester City Council announced that work had started on new housing using Ground Source Heat Pumps:

The project looks to bring back into use a long-term under-used brownfield site to build 36 one-bedroom apartments; 12 two-bedroom apartments; 17 two storey, three-bedroom houses; and 4 three storey, four-bedroom houses – while 16 of the apartments will be available to people over the age of 55.

Off-road parking will be included as part of the development, along with electric vehicle charging points, and private driveways for the houses.

Each of the apartments will have a balcony and living walls will provide a green aesthetic to the development, along with shared outdoor green space. They will also be built to HAPPI design principles that ensure larger internal space as standard, which will easily accommodate someone using a wheelchair, along with extra storage space.

The Council states that the houses will have generous gardens and solar panels, while the apartments will feature living green roofs as part of the project’s low carbon commitment.

This will also include the use of Ground Source Heat Pumps and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery to keep utility costs down for residents.

The homes are being constructed by Rowlinson with a design informed by the history of Newton Heath, celebrating the brickwork that characterises the local area. The homes will be managed by Northwards Housing.

The development is being part-funded through the Government’s Brownfield Land Fund, which will help deliver 522 new homes on disused land across the city over the next five years.

The city, the Council says, is already on track to surpass the affordable homes delivery target, which was to support at least 6,400 affordable homes to be built in the city between 2015 and 2025. The Council now expects to deliver more than 7,000 affordable homes in this period, more than meeting the 20% affordable target for all housing development in the city.