£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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Cult US sustainable clothing brand Reformation to open in Manchester city centre
Emily Sergeant
Cult US sustainable clothing brand Reformation is set to open its doors in Manchester very soon.
Since it was first founded in Los Angeles all the way back in 2009, Reformation has gone on to become one of the largest sustainable womenswear brands on the planet, and is now known and loved for making beautiful, timeless apparel and accessories that aim to ‘inspire confidence’ across life stages and occasions.
Operating on a business model that pairs a smart approach to merchandising with a responsive supply chain, Reformation now operates more than 70 retail stores across the US, UK, Canada, and France.
At the heart of the Reformation story is a genuine commitment to ‘doing things differently’.
Since day one, sustainability has been woven into everything the brand makes – from the eco-certified fabrics and responsible factories, to its famously transparent sustainability reports.
Currently, Reformation has five UK stores to its name – but, it may come as no surprise to fans of the brand that they’re all in London.
That’s why the news of this new Manchester opening is such a big deal.
Set to be the label’s first UK store outside of the capital, Reformation has secured a prime spot on King Street in the heart of the city centre, and although there’s no confirmed opening date as of yet, if the shop windows saying ‘Summer 2026’ are anything to go by, we can only imagine it’ll be very soon.
“For Manchester, it’s a landmark moment, and for King Street, it’s the latest signal that this is one of the UK’s most exciting retail destinations,” a spokesperson for King Street said in a statement.
Stay tuned for details on opening dates to be announced in due course.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
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Andy Burnham to begin rolling out new ‘everyday fixes’ for Brits amid cost of living crisis
Emily Sergeant
A series of ‘everyday fixes’ to help combat the rising cost of living crisis are soon to be rolled out nationwide.
Kicking off with two measures today, new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced that he plans to ban retailers from making ‘misleading’ claims to customers about discounts.
The Government says shoppers have ‘increasingly complained’ about outlets artificially inflating prices to give a false sense of value, such as increasing prices only to then immediately advertise ‘discounts’ to make savings look larger than they really are, which goes on to create an uneven playing field for honest competitors.
The Prime Minister also wants to see an end to so-called ‘subscription traps’, where people find it hard to cancel their subscriptions, and contracts are automatically renewed at a higher cost.
Set to come into force in January 2027 and saving people an average of £14 a month for every unwanted subscription, the changes will mean businesses will need to provide clearer up-front information, regular reminders. and a ‘much easier’ exit to contracts.
Andy Burnham to begin rolling out new ‘everyday fixes’ for Brits amid cost of living crisis / Credit: gov.uk | Piotr Cichosz (via Unsplash)
A new 14-day cooling-off period will also be introduced to let consumers cancel after a trial or long-term contract renews.
Certain charitable memberships, like the ones for cultural and heritage organisations for example, will be excluded from the new subscription rules due to the fact they have a unique role in preserving the nation’s history, landscapes, and cultural collections.
The Prime Minister says he is ‘determined’ to use every chance he gets to restore fairness and take pressure off people.
“I know people are sick and tired of rip-off discounts and subscription traps,” Andy Burnham said. “Westminster has got used to telling people that everyday hassles like this are just part of life, but I don’t think that’s right, especially when the cost of living continues to weigh heavily on so many people’s lives.”
Emily Sergeant -
1st September 2023 
