Greater Manchester is set to receive a cut of a £20 million fund to buy and refurbish properties for families and individuals at risk of homelessness in the region.
The £20m National Homelessness Property Fund 2 (NHPF2) – which was announced by social investment firm Resonance – aims to tackle the “alarming” numbers of people living in temporary or inappropriate accommodation in the North West, and will see houses, flats and apartments purchased through the the fund and leased to housing associations and homelessness charities.
Greater Manchester will get £5m to buy and renovate 50 one and two-bedroom houses, with additional scope to secure another 100 properties in the city-region and surrounding areas.
It’s believed that more than 80,000 people are currently on social housing waiting lists across Greater Manchester.
The initial investment will aim to provide housing for more than 250 people currently living in temporary accommodation, B&Bs or sleeping rough, but the fund will eventually aim to raise up to £100m to support hundreds more in need.
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Housing providers will also work with charities to help individuals and families find employment or education, and save for a deposit to move into the private rented sector with a track record of maintaining a tenancy.
This is the second iteration of the National Homelessness Property Fund (NHPF).
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The NHPF is the brainchild Resonance and ethical lettings agency Let Us – which is formed of five housing providers including Bolton At Home, ForHousing, Salix Homes, Stockport Homes Group and Wigan Council – and is funded by each of the Greater Manchester councils through the combined authority, along with the regional pension fund and social impact investors Big Society Capital.
Wikimedia Commons / Gary Knight
The first iteration of the fund – which ran from 2015 to 2018 – raised £30m to buy 229 properties for 587 people.
Speaking on the fund, Simon Chisholm – Chief Investment Officer at Resonance – said: “With homelessness on the rise, the need for safe, decent and affordable housing is significant. Building on the success of our previous property funds, we are proud to launch the NHPF2, which will initially focus on purchasing affordable homes across the North West.
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“This will enable the fund to make a real difference to hundreds of people’s lives across the region.”
Paul Dennett – Mayor of Salford and the city-region’s lead on homelessness – has welcomed the fund as a “timely initiative”.
He added: “The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated an already alarming crisis of housing and homelessness in this country, and its impact will be felt for many months to come. We face a dangerous winter that threatens to push many more people into hardship, and we should be doing all that we can to prevent further housing insecurity.
“We want high quality, truly affordable homes to be available to everyone across Greater Manchester,
“And the follow-on fund announced today by Resonance is a positive contribution to that goal and towards tackling the housing and homelessness crisis within Greater Manchester.”
You can find more information on the National Homelessness Property Fund 2 (NHPF2)here.
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Tributes paid to ‘trailblazing’ Manchester councillor Pat Karney who’s died at age 78
Emily Sergeant
Heartfelt tributes are being paid following the death of ‘trailblazing’ Manchester councillor, Pat Karney, at the age of 78.
It’s said that he had been receiving treatment for cancer at The Christie.
A longstanding Labour Party politician, Pat had represented Harpurhey as a councillor since 1979, as well as being a Lead Member for the City Centre during that time. He was most-notably responsible for setting up the now-iconic Manchester Day festival, as well as being a supporter and one of the key figures in the organising of Manchester’s annual Christmas Markets.
Pat was affectionately known to many across Greater Manchester as ‘Mr Manchester’ or ‘Mr Christmas’, thanks to his deep love of the city and the festive season.
Also throughout his career, Pat was one of the pivotal figures in the regeneration of the city centre after it was devastated by the 1996 IRA bombing.
He was also said to be ‘proud’ of the role he played in standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, especially in the 1980s when Manchester City Council fought against the discriminatory Clause 28 (of the Local Government Act 1988) introduced by the Thatcher Government.
Manchester City Council Leader Garry Bridges, Council Chief Executive Tom Stannard, and Greater Manchester’s former Night Time Economy Adviser Sacha Lord are some of the well-known names leading the tributes to Pat.
RIP Councillor Pat Karney.
In 2006, when I came up with the idea of The Warehouse Project, it was laughed off.
Pat believed in it and helped it happen.
A visionary. A pioneer. A true Mancunian.#RIPPatKarney
Cllr Bridges called Pat a ‘giant of Manchester politics’, while Lord described him as ‘a visionary, a pioneer, and a true Mancunian’.
One of the most prominent tributes has been paid by Greater Manchester Mayor, and former Council Leader, Bev Craig – who said Pat will ‘always be in our hearts’.
Her tribute reads in full: “Across Manchester and across politics, many will mourn the loss of Pat Karney, a force of nature who served our city for half a century. My thoughts are with his family, who he treasured and adored, at this difficult time. He will always be in our hearts.
“Affectionately known by many as Mr Manchester, Pat was one of the city’s most recognisable figures. Through Manchester’s renaissance, Pat championed making our city what it is today from the regeneration of the city centre, improving the health of Manchester people, to the creation of Manchester Day – he was incredibly proud of Manchester and recognised the need to bring people together.
“A local north Manchester boy, he championed Manchester while ferociously fighting for the people of Harpuhey and Collyhurst. He delivered on the ground from new council housing and a GP surgery to championing a new North Manchester Hospital.
“Pat was one of a kind, passionate, determined, sharp and quick witted, but he was also thoughtful, kind and supportive. He will be remembered too for his sense of fun.
“A private man, he was in many ways a trailblazer in politics, someone who sacrificed a lot to be himself he championed the gay village and LGBT equality, he paved the way for generations who came after him.
“Working together for over 15 years we became good friends and like many I will miss him- but also make sure his achievements are celebrated in a way that he would be proud of.”
Featured Image – Cllr Pat Karney / Manchester City Council
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Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
The Manc -
7th December 2020 
