£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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Beloved Manchester artist Stanley Chow slams Conservative Party for using his artwork
Daisy Jackson
Celebrated local artist Stanley Chow has lashed out at the Conservative Party.
The illustrator, who is famed for his cartoon portraits of famous faces, has discovered that the political party have been using his Andy Burnham illustration at their party conference.
Publicly addressing the usage, Stanley said he would be ‘seeking legal advice’.
He shared a photo of his Andy Burnham portrait that has been placed onto a water bottle with the slogan ‘Bottler Burnham’.
The label also says: “0% strength. Bottled under pressure from Badenoch.”
In another photo, Stanley Chow revealed that the Tory party conference has used his Andy Burnham portrait on pots of sweets, too.
This time, they say: “Andy Panders’ people pleaser pick n mix. Free sweets for everyone, it will only cost you higher taxes.”
Stanley wrote: “It seems like @conservatives have been using my artwork without my permission at their conference party…
“Regardless of whatever your political allegiances are, it’s still copyright infringement… I’ll be seeking legal advice.”
Backing him up in the comments are a number of other local artists, including Mancsy, who said: “As well as the copyright infringement, I expect more of political parties than making gags at the expense of the opposition. It’s alarming on multiple levels.”
Someone else wrote: “Imagine calling a prime minister a people pleaser like it’s an insult… when it’s their job.”
Another person said: “How does that even happen?! Layers of people signing off who go, ‘Sure, let’s not worry about copyright’ (people who’ve presumably never step foot in MCR and seen your artwork, like EVERYWHERE). Drag em, babe. Copyright and reputation, surely.”
Manchester man jailed after sexually assaulting and masturbating in front of woman on train
Emily Sergeant
A man has been jailed after sexually assaulting and masturbating in front of a woman on board a train to Manchester.
Following an extensive British Transport Police (BTP) investigation, Nisan Fernando Kurukulasuriya, of Troutbeck Road in Altrincham, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court last month.
At the trail last month, the court heard how, on Monday 20 April 2026, 39-year-old Kurukulasuriya was on a train from Stoke to Manchester and sat next to a woman he didn’t know, who was on the phone.
He then sexually assaulted her repeatedly, doing so again even after being pushed away by the woman.
The woman then noticed that Kurukulasuriya had exposed himself and was masturbating in front of her. She shouted at him, and in response, he stood up and ran away to leave the train – but the woman immediately got up to report the incident to staff.
When the train arrived at Manchester Piccadilly, the woman alerted a member of staff while Kurukulasuriya was stood only a few meters away, and BTP were subsequently called straight away.
Police quickly attended and arrested Kurukulasuriya.
When police interviewed him, Kurukulasuriya showed no remorse for his actions and refused to answer any questions put to him.
After pleading guilty to Sexual Assault and Outraging Public Decency at a previous court hearing, Kurukulasuriya was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, and was also handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which will bar him from sitting next to any woman he doesn’t know on public transport, as well as being put on thensex offenders register for 10 years.
BTP Detective Sergeant, Mark Haviland, called Kurukulasuriya a ‘despicable man’ who targeted a woman travelling alone ‘for his own sick sexual gratification’.
Emily Sergeant -
1st September 2023 
