Greater Manchester is ready to turn the tide on the housing crisis
Greater Manchester is ready to turn the tide on the housing crisis with its comprehensive plan to build new homes, connect communities to new jobs and opportunities, and drive up standards across the rental sector.
By driving an increase in new homes across the region, including affordable, social and net zero housing, and by raising the standards of current rental homes, we will fulfil our Housing First ambition to give everyone access to a safe, secure and affordable home by 2038.
This week has already seen a renewed focus on driving up housing standards with the unveiling of the first supporters of the Good Landlord Charter – Greater Manchester’s bold twin-track approach to recognising good practice, while holding rogue landlords to account with increased enforcement activity and fines.
New analysis shows that our Brownfield Housing Fund, set up in 2020, has provided grants to deliver over 15,000 homes – with an average of just over 45% being affordable housing. This success, linked to our ambitious plans to boost regeneration across Greater Manchester, will support plans to deliver more social housing than is lost across the region.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “If we are serious about securing the long-term success of Greater Manchester, we need to free ourselves from the grip of the housing crisis.
“Because of the decisions we’ve taken, Greater Manchester is now building more affordable homes than at any point since the turn of the millennium.
“We need to keep building on that momentum until we reach a tipping point where we build more social homes than we lose.
“We’re determined to ensure that every person in Greater Manchester has access to the safe and secure home they need in order to thrive.”
Unlocking brownfield land
Since 2020, Greater Manchester has invested £135.4m from the Brownfield Housing Fund to redevelop underused brownfield land and deliver thousands of new homes.
Brownfield land can be difficult to bring forward for development, owing to issues including soil contamination and the need to remove existing structures. These challenges are often expensive to overcome – and can deter developers from building on brownfield sites.
In those five years, we have provided grants delivering more than 15,000 homes – with just over 45% on average being affordable tenure types, compared with an average of 20% for all Greater Manchester developments in that time. A fifth of all homes supported by the Brownfield Housing Fund to date are for social rent.
Around a quarter of all homes funded through grants have reached practical completion, ahead of schedule.
As part of the Trailblazer devolution deal signed in 2023, Greater Manchester agreed an extension to the Brownfield Housing Fund to accelerate building the good, affordable homes we need. This additional funding has allowed us to continue developing on challenging sites across the region.
The Brownfield Housing Fund also puts a greater focus on energy efficiency – helping Greater Manchester deliver the net-zero homes we need to reduce emissions and ease pressure on household energy bills.
The Fund has also enabled us to deliver key infrastructure and unlock the full potential of brownfield developments – including at Victoria North, the biggest urban regeneration project in the North of England, set to deliver more than 15,000 new homes, employment space, schools, and GP surgeries.
Further funding allocations are anticipated for the summer, supplementing those approved previously and the successful delivery of thousands of new homes to date.
Paul Dennett, deputy mayor and Greater Manchester Lead for Housing First, said: “Through our pioneering Housing First model, we’re ensuring that people with the most complex needs are supported into stable housing with wraparound care. And with the upcoming launch of the UK’s first Good Landlord Charter, we’re raising standards across the rental sector, giving tenants stronger protections and ensuring that everyone in Greater Manchester has access to a safe, secure, and decent home.
“The Brownfield Housing Fund has been a vital tool in unlocking land for development, allowing us to build thousands of much-needed homes, while protecting our green spaces. With the right investment, we can deliver high-quality, sustainable, affordable housing across our city-region.”
Regenerating our towns and building new homes
We are using the power of Mayoral Development Corporations to unlock regeneration opportunities to deliver housing across the city region.
These pioneering tools bring together local partners and drive forward our ambitions to build new homes, bring jobs and investment, and support economic growth.
They are statutory bodies, set up by the Mayor, designed to speed up development and attract investment within a specific area. They can take on broad powers including land acquisition, planning and infrastructure functions.
These include Old Trafford (part of the proposed Western Gateway Mayoral Development Zone), the expanded Stockport MDC and the Northern Gateway MDC (part of Atom Valley). Together, these three alone are expected to deliver 27,250 homes over the next 15 years to help address the housing crisis.
We have a proven track record of successfully implementing an MDC in Stockport, where this joined-up approach to regeneration has helped us to deliver well-connected developments, with the right transport links and infrastructure to support thriving communities.
Mayoral Development Zones, meanwhile, set out the strategic vision for regeneration over larger parts of the region in which MDCs can sit.
Next week (Friday 27 June) will see new proposals discussed by leaders in Greater Manchester for a Mayoral Development Zone to drive forward development in the Western Gateway.
The Western Gateway, recognised by the chancellor for its importance as a key development location, includes Port Salford, Trafford Wharfside, and the Old Trafford Regeneration area, where a Mayoral Development Corporation is proposed.
The Mayoral Development Zone will ensure the connections between these major opportunities are understood and the benefits of those links are maximised.
Cllr Bev Craig, portfolio lead for economy, business and inclusive growth said: “Greater Manchester is leading the way in delivering new homes, jobs and infrastructure, using our devolved powers to drive growth.
“We have pioneered the Mayoral Development Corporation model to great success in Stockport and we want to replicate that success across Greater Manchester. It gives us the ability to accelerate regeneration by bringing major partners together and unlocking sites for development, directly tackling the housing crisis at its root.
“These are part of a range of tools we’re using in Greater Manchester to leverage the potential of transformative regeneration, including projects like Victoria North – a once-in-a-generation development that will deliver more than 15,000 homes and create new green spaces and employment opportunities in the heart of our city-region.”
In recent years, demand for social housing in Greater Manchester has outstripped supply. In 2023/24, there were 13,422 social lettings in Greater Manchester – half as many as ten years ago. That is reflected in the 5,421 households, including 7,819 children, living in temporary accommodation in December
As part of the recent Spending Review, the government announced £39bn in grants for spending on social and affordable housing over the next 10 years.
Greater Manchester will look to use its funding to deliver the biggest return for social housing, with the aim of building more social homes than we are losing within the four years of the Spending Review period.