Work is now underway on dozens of new ‘affordable’ homes in Salford as part of multi-billion pound regeneration scheme.
The exciting new development called Willohaus – which was granted planning permission by Salford City Council last summer – forms part of the wider £2.5 billion Crescent Salford regeneration, and is a partnership between Salford City Council, the University of Salford, and ECF (formerly The English Cities Fund).
100 “high-quality, sustainable, and affordable” one and two-bedroomed homes are set to be built on a disused carpark on Peru Street in the heart of Salford as part of the scheme.
The apartments have been designed to provide a “comfortable environment” for residents, as Passivhaus buildings can apparently reduce energy bills by up to 90%, when compared to traditional housing stock.
This essentially means residents can reduce their fuel bills, all while cutting carbon footprints too.
ADVERTISEMENT
Work has begun on dozens of new ‘affordable’ homes in Salford / Credit: ECF North West
The Willohaus site is situated in the historic civic district of Salford, which has been undergoing extensive regeneration in recent years.
It was once a key industrial area for the city, and back in the 1800s, the site was home to a public bath house.
ADVERTISEMENT
The construction of Willohaus follows the similar development of Passivhaus-standard homes, Greenhaus, situated nearby – which completed last month, and is made up of 96 affordable new homes in total.
Joe Stockton, who is the Senior Development Manager for ECF, said Willohaus will be an “upscale” on Greenhaus.
The Willohaus site is situated in the historic civic district of Salford / Credit: ECF North West
He explained: “Following our success delivering low-energy, Passivhaus-standard homes at nearby Greenhaus, we are now looking to upscale what has previously been done on a relatively small-scale, and make sustainable homes accessible and affordable for a wider range of customers.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We’re looking forward to working with our partners to create a vibrant and well-connected neighbourhood at Crescent Salford, starting with our Willohaus community.”
Willohaus will also be the first Passivhaus-certified development to benefit from funding through the new ‘trailblazer’ devolution protocols, which have seen Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) given greater powers and funding to enable more “truly affordable net-zero homes” via the UK Government’s Affordable Homes Programme.
Tom Stannard, who is the CEO of Salford City Council, added: “It is such great news to see works starting on another eco-friendly development in our city.
“The incredible Passivhaus standards will see residents using much less energy and in turn paying much less for their energy bills.
“I’d like to thank all our partners for their hard work as we work to be a zero-carbon city by 2038.”
Featured Image – ECF North West (via Supplied)
Property
Molly-Mae Hague revisits first Manchester flat, now on the market for £185k
Daisy Jackson
Molly-Mae Hague’s first Manchester flat is now on the market for £185k – and the star herself has paid a visit to her old digs.
Those who have been following Molly-Mae since before she shot to serious fame on Love Island will have recognised the backdrop of her recent TikTok video.
The 27-year-old reality TV star and businesswoman posed around the one-bedroom flat, dancing to Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘House Tour’.
The apartment is where she lived just before entering Love Island, and where she and now-fiance Tommy Fury lived briefly when they left the show.
And now that exact flat where she really launched her social media career has been listed for sale, at £185,000.
The corner apartment stands on the 17th floor of Islington Wharf, overlooking New Islington tram stop and right on the doorstep of Ancoats.
Her former landlord, who arranged for Molly-Mae to have one look around her old flat before it’s sold, said that she was a ‘lovely, polite and down-to-earth young woman, and an excellent tenant who looked after the apartment extremely well.’
The one bedroom apartment has double-aspect floor-to-ceiling windows which look across Manchester on one side, and out towards the Pennines on the other.
It’s listed for sale with no chain and the option to include existing furnishings (which seems to include the same couch Molly-Mae had at the time).
The flat also has a kitchen/living space, a communal garden, superfast broadband, and is within walking distance of Manchester Piccadilly.
New measures announced to tackle ‘rogue’ landlords across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
A cohort of trained enforcement officers are set to hit the streets in all 10 boroughs to help improve the lives of the region’s renters.
Forming part of Greater Manchester‘s commitment to the highest-quality housing standards alongside the Good Landlord Charter, the newly trained enforcement officers will be tasked with protecting tenants, joining Council teams in checking rental properties, bringing enforcement action against bad landlords, and cracking down on illegal practices.
The introduction of the new enforcement officers comes after what has been ‘years of sustained pressure’ on local budgets.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) says it is working with the 10 councils across the region to strengthen local teams, rebuild in-house skills and expertise, and ensure that powers can be applied with consistency in all boroughs.
As mentioned, this is happening alongside the Good Landlord Charter – which is GMCA’s ‘bold approach’ to drive up standards for renters across the region.
Landlords of more than half of rented properties in Greater Manchester have now signed up as supporters of the Charter, and as supporters, they have committed to going above and beyond legal minimums to improve the renting experience for hundreds of thousands of people.
“A safe place to call home is the cornerstone of a happy, healthy life,” explained Mayor Bev Craig. “But for years, people have felt trapped in poor-quality housing, and cash-strapped councils were unable to step in to help. I’m putting an end to that.
“We know there are plenty of good landlords in Greater Manchester, and many of them have already signed up to our Good Landlord Charter, but too many are just not good enough.
“That’s why we’re deploying a new generation of expert housing officers onto the streets of our towns and cities.”
Mayor Bev Craig declared that she ‘won’t stand by and let rogue landlords take advantage of people’.
She continued: “By empowering renters, working with responsible landlords, and using our powers to crack down on the bad ones, I will make sure everyone in Greater Manchester has the foundation for a good life.”
Emily Sergeant -
10th April 2024 
