News
£97m pot for thousands of new homes across Greater Manchester
The money has been supplied via the Brownfield Housing Fund (BHF).
Greater Manchester has been handed a pot of more than £97 million to fund the construction of thousands of new homes right across the region.
The money has been supplied via the Brownfield Housing Fund (BHF) – a scheme designed to support building on brownfield sites – and will go towards creating 2,700 Greater Manchester properties.
Manchester borough will receive £7.82m as part of the second tranche of funding – which will be used to deliver 500 homes.
This includes the construction of 139 houses in Collyhurst Village – a development that forms part of the biggest regeneration of the Collyhurst area in over 50 years.
BHF money will also go towards 69 low carbon homes in the Silk Street Development in Newton Heath – built with solar panels, Ground Source Heat Pumps, electric vehicle charging points, and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery to reduce utility costs.
275 homes in the Back of Ancoats area and 39 homes in Ancoats Dispensary will also benefit from the fund.
A further five schemes are on the reserve list – representing a further pipeline of 1,336 new homes.
Manchester City Council had pledged to deliver at least 6,400 affordable homes between 2015 and 2025 – with a total of 32,000 homes expected to be built during this period overall.
Cllr Suzanne Richards, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and regeneration, said the BHF funding was “very welcome”.
“The challenges in urban areas of remediating brownfield land can impact on the financial viability of affordable housing,” the Councillor stated.
“This funding will allow us to support the delivery of much-needed council, social and affordable housing to meet growing demand in the city.
“Everyone in this city deserves a safe, secure and affordable home and it is for this reason we have set an ambitious affordable home building target of at least 6,400 homes between 2015 and 2025.
“Despite the challenges of the last year we are on track to exceed that target. This is testament to the strength of the partnerships that Manchester has built with our social landlords in the city and our commitment to back affordable house building with Council land and resources.”
The full list of proposed sites under Tranche 2 of Greater Manchester’s Brownfield Housing Fund allocation can be found here.
Feature image: Collyhurst Village development illustration.
News
Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre
Daisy Jackson
Police are trying to track down the family of a man who died after being found unresponsive outside the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
The man, who has now been named as Jonathan Bernard Carroll, was seen outside the city centre theatre at around 6.30am on Tuesday 12 November.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and Mr Carroll was taken to hospital.
Tragically, the 47-year-old passed away a short time later.
A large cordon was in place on Whitworth Street and Oxford Road while police and security attended the incident.
Greater Manchester Police are now appealing to find his next of kin.
It’s believed that he resided in the Salford area of Greater Manchester.
Anyone with any information should contact the Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 1376.
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Featured image: The Manc Group
News
Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.
As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.
Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.
The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.
Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.
Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.
The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.
Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.
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“Help us be a lifeline to organisations on the frontline,” Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity urged in it’s public appeal for donations.
You can help make sure ‘A Bed Every Night’ is a reality for all by donating here.
Featured Image – EthelRedThePetrolHead (via Flickr)
The Manc -
26th March 2021 
