Just over £50 million funding has been awarded to build thousands of new affordable homes right across Manchester.
Following several successful submissions to Greater Manchester Combined Authority‘s (GMCA) ‘Brownfield Housing Fund’, it’s now been confirmed that Manchester City Council has been awarded a total of £51.6 million to fund the development of 31 long-term underused sites throughout the city-region over the next two years.
The includes the building of 3,380 new homes, including 1,761 – or the equivalent of 52% – that are considered to be “genuinely affordable” to Manchester people.
This new package of funding is part of the “trailblazer agreement” between the UK Government and Greater Manchester over three years, which is aiming to unlock Brownfield land and use it to build new housing.
With this new funding added, this means that the total funding allocated to the region is now a £128 million in this phase of bidding, and a whopping £150 million overall.
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We have successfully bid for £51.6m funding from GMCA to build thousands of new homes on unused brownfield sites over the next two years – including 1,761 genuinely affordable homes.
News of the £51.6 million funding allocation comes not long after Mayor Andy Burnham declared that he want 2024 to be the year that Greater Manchester “gets serious about housing”, and follows the Council’s £50 million investment into making a series of “transformational upgrades” to social housing in the borough.
The Council has previously successfully bid for £3 million from the national ‘Brownfield Land Release Fund’, and this was used to kickstart development at the inaugural ‘This City’ site in Ancoats, as well as a range of ‘Project 500’ housing sites too.
£50m funding awarded to build thousands more ‘genuinely affordable’ homes in Manchester / Credit: Manchester City Council
Cllr Gavin White, who is Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for Housing and Development, has called the Council’s goal of building 36,000 new homes by 2032 “necessarily ambitious”.
He continued: “This is a challenge, both in terms of available land and the funding necessary to build new housing at scale, but we are on course to meet these targets.
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“However, we must be innovative and use the resources available to use.
“As a post-industrial city, we have lots of Brownfield sites that are sometimes difficult to develop, but this land represents a massive opportunity to deliver the homes, particularly the affordable housing our residents need.
“This funding is hugely welcome and we will help bring these unused areas of Manchester back into use.”
Featured Image – Manchester City Council
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Manchester security guard jailed for raping woman who asked him for help
Emily Sergeant
A local security guard has been jailed after raping and sexuality assaulting a woman who asked for his help.
Shazad Mughal, from the Crumpsall area of Manchester, has been jailed after Greater Manchester Police (GMP) received a 999 call from the victim at 12:45am on Wednesday 10 August 2022, who said she had been sexually assaulted.
The victim had asked Mughal, who was working as a security guard, for directions to Manchester city centre after their tram had terminated earlier than expected.
The 48-year-old Mughal allowed the victim to use the toilet and then proceeded to sexually assault her in his security booth, before the victim managed to flee the scene and call the police, remaining hidden until an officer could locate them.
Mughal was sentenced last Friday (7 November 2025) to seven-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty of one count of rape and one count of sexual assault by penetration.
Detective Constable Luke Miller, of GMP’s Serious Crime Division, said Mughal ‘abused his position of authority’.
“Mughal claimed that the victim was advancing onto them whilst in the security booth and that he did not want to have any sexual activity with the victim, which was completely untrue,” DC Miller explained in a statement following the sentencing.
“I commend the victim in this case for supporting our investigation, which has resulted in today’s sentence and sees justice served against Mughal, who will now spend a significant amount of time behind bars.
“Our officers will provide support, conduct thorough investigations, and take firm action against offenders.
“Your allegations will be taken seriously, and you will be treated with dignity and respect.”
Greater Manchester Police can be contacted via 101, or through the Live Chat function on their website – gmp.police.uk. Reports can also be made anonymously through the independent charity, Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.
Featured Image – GMP
News
Manchester security guard jailed for raping woman who asked him for help
Emily Sergeant
A local security guard has been jailed after raping and sexuality assaulting a woman who asked for his help.
Shazad Mughal, from the Crumpsall area of Manchester, has been jailed after Greater Manchester Police (GMP) received a 999 call from the victim at 12:45am on Wednesday 10 August 2022, who said she had been sexually assaulted.
The victim had asked Mughal, who was working as a security guard, for directions to Manchester city centre after their tram had terminated earlier than expected.
The 48-year-old Mughal allowed the victim to use the toilet and then proceeded to sexually assault her in his security booth, before the victim managed to flee the scene and call the police, remaining hidden until an officer could locate them.
Mughal was sentenced last Friday (7 November 2025) to seven-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty of one count of rape and one count of sexual assault by penetration.
Detective Constable Luke Miller, of GMP’s Serious Crime Division, said Mughal ‘abused his position of authority’.
“Mughal claimed that the victim was advancing onto them whilst in the security booth and that he did not want to have any sexual activity with the victim, which was completely untrue,” DC Miller explained in a statement following the sentencing.
“I commend the victim in this case for supporting our investigation, which has resulted in today’s sentence and sees justice served against Mughal, who will now spend a significant amount of time behind bars.
“Our officers will provide support, conduct thorough investigations, and take firm action against offenders.
“Your allegations will be taken seriously, and you will be treated with dignity and respect.”
Greater Manchester Police can be contacted via 101, or through the Live Chat function on their website – gmp.police.uk. Reports can also be made anonymously through the independent charity, Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.
Emily Sergeant -
29th January 2024 
