Boroughs

Andy Burnham declares 2024 as the year Greater Manchester ‘gets serious about housing’

"The days of bad landlords being untouchable are coming to an end."

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 4th January 2024

Andy Burnham has declared that he wants 2024 to go down as the year that Greater Manchester “got serious about housing”.

Now that we’re just a few days into the new year, the Greater Manchester Mayor has been reflecting on how far the region has come within the last 12 months, and taking a moment to appreciate all the successful new projects that were delivered in 2023.

These include the £2 cap on single-route bus fares, plans for a new non-charging Clean Air Zone, and, of course, the long-awaited launch of the new Bee Network.

But now that the region’s plan for public transport is well underway and “proceeding at pace”, Andy Burnham has decided it’s time to turn his attentions onto two other “fundamental issues” that he claims “also need fixing” this year.

“2024 should go down as the year we got serious about housing,” the Mayor declared.

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Wasting no time in kick-starting plans for potential change within the housing sector, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is beginning a public consultation on the new Greater Manchester ‘Good Landlord Charter’ next week, after working with a group of tenants, landlords, and other experts to help us draw it up.

“We know there are many decent landlords in our city-region, and the introduction of the Charter will give them a way of being recognised as such,” Mr Burnham said ahead of the consultation launching.

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“That being said, we know there are others who do not treat their tenants properly and do not respect our communities.

“So for the first time, our residents will have a greater ability to distinguish between the two.”

Alongside the new Charter, GMCA says it also plans to give all renters the right to request a property check from 2024 onwards, and to do this, the authority will be working with each of the region’s 10 local Councils to boost its inspection and enforcement capability.

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“Put simply, the days of bad landlords being untouchable are coming to an end,” Mr Burnham stated.

The Greater Manchester Mayor said he’s feeling “optimistic” about the change the Charter will bring to the city-region if received well by the public and ultimately approved.

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“Whatever happens nationally, we will be powering ahead in 2024 as the UK’s most forward-thinking city-region, and I hope that will give you and your family a feeling of confidence for the future and wish you the best for the year ahead,” he concluded.

Featured Image – Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)

Boroughs

Manchester restaurants to add an extra £1 to bills to help fight homelessness this Christmas

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A handful of local restaurants will be adding an extra £1 onto every bill over the festive season to help fight street homelessness.

People in Greater Manchester are once again able to give back while they dine at some of the best restaurants the region has to offer in the run up to Christmas, as the successful StreetSmart fundraising initiative is back for another year.

This year, 13 fantastic restaurants have come together to support local homeless charities as the campaign launched last Friday (1 November).

Manchester independents such as Mana, Climat, 20 Stories, and Tariff and Dale are among those taking part in the campaign this year, alongside several city centre branches chains such as Tampopo, Banyan, BOX, Manahatta, and San Carlo.

StreetSmart works by each participating restaurant adding an extra £1 to every bill they deliver throughout November and December, with all of the money raised going directly to local homeless organisations, thanks to StreetSmart’s official sponsorship from LandAid.

The funds raised by StreetSmart in Greater Manchester this year will support the crucial work of organisations such as CentrePoint, and Akt – a charity supporting LGBTQ+ young people aged 16-25 into safe homes, employment, education, or training. 

In 2023, Manchester restaurants alone raised a whopping £25,000 for these life-changing services in the local community.

Manchester restaurants are adding an extra £1 to bills to help fight homelessness this Christmas / Credit: Supplied | Rifqi Ali Ridho (via Unsplash)

“Many of us want to help the vulnerable people in our community during the festive period, and StreetSmart provides an easy way to do this,” explained Glenn Pougnet, who is the Director of StreetSmart.

“We’re grateful to see so many local restaurants stepping forward to help our city’s homeless.

“It’s amazing to witness the kindness that our community has to offer, and see the tangible impact of our efforts and funding in the community.

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“This year, we’re proud to be taking another step towards the eradication of homelessness, and look forward to seeing even more restaurants getting involved over the Christmas period.”

Featured Image – John Carey (via Supplied)

Boroughs

Andy Burnham calls for ‘efficient and reliable’ public transport as he slams Northern rail services

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Andy Burnham has called for an ‘efficient and reliable’ public transport system as he slams Northern’s rail services for being ‘not good enough’.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has been vocal about his condemning views of rail travel across Greater Manchester and the North West over the past couple of years, notably calling for widespread reforms across the board, and particularly taking aim at Avanti’s running of the West Coast Main Line – especially as regular delays and cancellations have become commonplace for many.

But now, Mr Burnham, along with a handful of other Mayors across the North, have written to the Government to highlight poor performance by Northern.

This comes after Mr Burnham called an emergency meeting of the Rail North Committee last Wednesday, which saw regional mayors and leaders seek “immediate assurances” from Northern after a spate of cancellations, overcrowding of services, and ‘Do Not Travel’ warnings on Sundays.

Greater Manchester now regularly sees between 30% and 40% of its services cancelled on Sundays, and in many cases, no replacement bus services or alternative travel methods have been provided.

Andy Burnham has called for ‘efficient and reliable’ public transport across the north / Credit: TfGM

The Committee members said they fear that, without intervention, the situation could get worse, and ultimately affect confidence amongst shoppers and travellers as we head into the busiest time of year.

“The situation must be reversed in the interest of passengers and the region’s businesses, especially those in the retail and hospital sectors,” the Committee concluded.

Some of the topics discussed in the Committee meeting were the fact that, within the past week alone, with it being half term for many in the region, a total of 1,600 trains were cancelled across the network, and there was a lack of mitigations in place, such as ticket acceptance with other operators, when this happened.

Infrastructure challenges, high staff sickness levels, and Northern’s reliance on staff working on rest days was also discussed.

“Efficient and reliable public transport is a critical enabler of economic growth,” Mr Burnham said.

“What we heard from Northern at the meeting of the Rail North Committee was not good enough for residents and businesses across the north. That is why, on behalf of the Rail North Committee, I have written to the Chancellor and the Secretary of State to urge them to support us to bring the service back to an acceptable level.”

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Mr Burnham concluded that “significant modernisation” is needed by Northern if they are to match the Committee’s ambitions for growth.

Featured Image – Northern

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