The new mayor of Greater Manchester has set out plans to build on her predecessor Andy Burnham’s legacy with 50,000 new council, social and “genuinely affordable “homes across the city region by 2039.
Bev Craig said 10,000 of these homes would be built, on site, or in the pipeline with planning permission by May 2028, as part of a strategy to tackle the housing crisis and remove barriers to development.
The announcement came as the mayor visited a development in Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, where 35 new social rent homes have been delivered on brownfield land by Jigsaw Homes and developer Greenwood Builders.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) backed the scheme with £2.7m from the Affordable Homes Programme and £700,000 from its Brownfield Housing Fund, which is used to decontaminate land and prepare it for construction.
Craig said: “Everyone in Greater Manchester should have the security of a good home that they can afford and no one should feel priced out of their community. I benefited from the security of a good council house growing up, and I want everyone to have that opportunity. As mayor, I am determined to deliver a golden era of more council and social homes, using all means at our disposal in Greater Manchester.
“Nationally we face a housing crisis, with too many people trapped on housing waiting lists or living in poor sub-standard rented accommodation. In Greater Manchester I’m determined to change that by building a new generation of council and social homes across Greater Manchester and making it a GM-wide mission, with a new board to oversee our delivery.”
As part of the plan, the mayor will ask public bodies across Greater Manchester to carry out a review of public land and identify sites that could be released for housing, forming a new Public Sector Land Bank.
The Brownfield Housing Fund has already supported schemes delivering thousands of affordable homes, including social rent housing on council land in Manchester, Salford and Stockport, and now forms part of the combined authority’s £2bn Good Growth Fund, which invests in housing, town centre regeneration, job creation and infrastructure.
Greater Manchester’s joint development plan across nine council areas, Places for Everyone, has identified land supply for 78,585 new homes of all tenures up to 2030, while removing planning obstacles and protecting the green belt from unplanned development.
Salford and Stockport are currently building more homes for social rent than they are losing through Right to Buy, and the combined authority expects the whole of Greater Manchester to reach that position by 2027.
Greater Manchester is in line to receive an initial £1.8bn from the government’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme, and the mayor is due to meet government in the coming weeks to set out joint plans for delivery.
Craig added: “We’ve already started ramping up delivery. When I was Manchester council leader I built more council and social homes than Manchester had built in 25 years, but we need to go further and faster in every bit of Greater Manchester.
“Too many brownfield sites sit empty across Greater Manchester – so I will target them and set up a new Public Sector Land Bank that can be used for council, social and genuinely affordable homes. We will be leading by example when it comes to freeing up disused and dormant public land for development and I’m calling on other government bodies to join us.
“I know first-hand the security that a council house brings. That’s why I am absolutely committed to delivering the council and social homes that people here in Greater Manchester need, so everyone can have the foundation of a good life in our city region.”
Alyson Heald, executive group director of partnerships and regional operations at housing association L&Q, said: “This is the kind of practical action needed to tackle the housing crisis. With demand for affordable homes so high across Greater Manchester, we need to make every opportunity count.
“A public sector land bank could help unlock land for affordable housing, supporting delivery through partnership working. We’re ready to play our part and look forward to working with mayor Bev Craig and partners to deliver more homes, jobs and growth across the region.”
Main image: GM Mayor Bev Craig visits a Jigsaw Homes site in Ashton-under-Lyne. Credit: GMCA
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