£50 million in funding will go towards upgrading and improving social housing in Manchester over the next two years.
Manchester City Council has revealed this week that thousands of tenants living in social housing and Council-owned residential complexes across the city and wider borough are set to receive what is being dubbed “transformational investment” to their homes before 2026.
More than 2,000 homes within Manchester will be improved, the Council has confirmed.
£47 million of funding has been approved to improve more than 2,000 homes through a range of works – from new bathrooms, kitchens, and boilers, to rewiring, new doors, and adaptations for disabled residents.
£5 million will be used to “enhance safety” across 12 high rise blocks, while £2 million of the fund has been earmarked for “essential adaptations” to make sure the needs of residents with accessibility requirements are met so they can live in their homes independently for longer.
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The funding will also help install 110 ground or air source heat pumps, and 67 solar panels too.
We are starting the largest ever investment to improve our social housing.
This will include more than 1,000 bathroom upgrades, 244 new kitchens and 324 new boilers that will reduce running costs for residents.
These improvement works are part of what the Council has called its “ongoing commitment” to ensure the properties it owns meet “decent homes standards” and improve conditions for social housing tenants.
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From early 2024, the Council’s Housing Services team will start to develop a five-year programme of home and estate improvements, which will be supported by a condition survey of all 12,500 Council-owned homes in the city in an bid to help “inform and prioritise” any improvement works required and deliver the “best possible service” for tenants.
This comes after the Housing Services team recently began the process of tackling a backlog of repairs that were “exacerbated by the delays caused by COVID-19,” according to the Council.
It also comes after the Council announced a landmark £60 million ‘energy efficiency’ programme over the next two years back in July – which will upgrade 2,100 Manchester homes as part of the city’s target to become net zero by 2038.
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Manchester City Council invests £50m in ‘transformational upgrades’ to social housing / Credit: Manchester City Council
Cllr Gavin White called this “one of the biggest investments in Council-owned homes in many years”.
Speaking as the £50 million funding was announced, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development said: “This is a clear commitment to our residents to deliver a social housing sector that our tenants can trust, and homes they can be proud to live in.
“We want to deliver the best possible service for social housing tenants, and we firmly believe that everyone in Manchester deserves a safe, secure, and decent home.”
Featured Image – Archello / Rockpanel
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Onlookers ‘in tears’ after tiny duckling rescued from storm drain in beauty spot
Daisy Jackson
The RSPCA has shared a heartwarming video of a reunion between a tiny duckling and his mum, after the baby bird fell into a storm drain.
The charity, with the help of staff in the nearby Grandpa Greene’s Luxury Ice Cream Parlour, managed to fish the tiny bird out of the storm drain in a painstaking two-hour-long operation.
Miraculously, the duckling was unharmed, and his mum was waiting nearby on the canal in Saddleworth ready to be reunited with her baby.
The RSPCA has now thanked the staff member who helped rescue the duckling, and issued a warning to the public to keep dogs on a lead when near wildlife, believing the poor bird was chased by a dog before falling down the five-feet-high grid.
The rescue operation too place in Diggle last Wednesday 9 April, with Animal Rescue Officer Lee Ferrans taking on the ‘long and painstaking’ process of tempting the duckling into a net.
Lee said: “I wasn’t able to lift the grid so the only thing I could do was push an extendable pole straight down and try to catch the duckling in a net. There wasn’t a lot of room for manoeuvre and the net kept catching on all the debris.
“Just when I thought I’d been successful, the duckling kept disappearing into a drain on one side and then popping out again. A member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s had just finished her shift and came across to the other side of the canal to help me. I unscrewed the top of the pole with the net and held it down on one side of the drain while she used another section to gently encourage the bird to go into the net.
“It was quite a long and painstaking rescue but we eventually managed to bring the little one back up safely after more than two hours.”
The pair then placed the duckling into a cardboard box before heading further up the canal to reunite them with their mother and six sibling ducklings.
The adult duck ‘instantly recognised’ the chirping and swam straight towards it.
Lee added: “A little crowd had gathered and as the family were reunited people were shedding tears. It was a really lovely moment to see them all back together.
“I’d especially like to thank the member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s who offered an extra pair of hands – I couldn’t have done it without her – and to all the people in the area who stopped and were concerned.
“Storm drains can be a bit of a menace for ducklings, especially at this time of the year when there are babies around, and this brood was only a few days old.”
Man jailed for throwing acid in the face of a 16-year-old boy
Daisy Jackson
A man has been thrown behind bars for eight years and two months after throwing a corrosive substance over a 16-year-old boy, leaving him with serious injuries.
When Gilson Martins of Ashton Street, Rochdale, was arrested, he was found to be in possession of acid, being kept in a bottle of hair dye.
He pleaded guilty to robbery, possession of a corrosive substance, and witness intimidation, and was also sentenced for unrelated drugs offences in 2022.
On 24 March 2024, Martins plotted the attack on his 16-year-old victim, even demonstrating to another man how effective the acid would be by using it on a piece of paper.
The victim was then lured to an address in the Woodley area by an accomplice, where he was confronted by Martins.
When an altercation broke out, a corrosive substance was thrown over the teen.
He was taken to hospital with serious injuries which required intensive treatment at a specialist burns unit, with several more procedures taking place since.
When a man spoke to police about the acid attack, Martins attended his home and threatened to ‘stab him, throw acid on him, and carve his name’ into him.
#JAILED| A man has been jailed following an acid attack on a 16-year-old boy in Stockport last year.
Gilson Martins (06/12/01) was arrested by armed police following the attack, and was discovered with an acid-filled bottle of hair dye.
The man in question barricaded himself in his bedroom while Martins knifed the door, fleeing shortly before police arrived.
He was arrested by armed officers on 10 April this year, where he was found with a bottle of hair dye.
Detective Constable Heather Parke, from GMP’s Stockport district, said: “The effects of attacks involving corrosive substances are well-known, and can result in severe, life-changing injuries or even death.
“Using them in attacks is utterly vile and I am glad Martins is now behind bars for his vicious assault. His victim received injuries from which he is still suffering, and has already received numerous treatments.
“We have zero tolerance for these sort of crimes, and we put considerable resources into ensuring that Martins was arrested, charged, and sentenced. He now has a long time to think about his actions inside a prison cell.”
Emily Sergeant -
1st September 2023 
