Manchester secures over £45m for affordable home building

The grant, which is the result of combined bids from registered housing providers and social landlords, will help deliver 1772 new homes at sites across the city by 2021.

The properties will be a mix of specialist rent units for tenants providing extra care, adapted homes for people with learning disabilities, and older people, shared-ownership opportunities, the newer Rent to Buy model, and some traditional social rental homes.

Manchester City Council in partnership with Northwards Housing, the council’s arm’s length property management organisation, will receive funding of £2.85m which will create a total of 75 properties in north Manchester.

Earlier in January, Manchester City Countil devised its own definition of affordable housing after a report to its cabinet said the term was misunderstood.

The definition sits within its housing affordability framework which states the cost of housing should not exceed 30% of an average household’s gross income, if it is to be labelled as ‘affordable’.

The council plans to deliver between 1,000 and 2,000 homes a year split evenly between housing types such as shared ownership and shared equity properties, rent to purchase and social and affordable rent.

Cllr Bernard Priest, deputy leader of Manchester City Council, said: “We have set an ambitious target to deliver up to 2,000 homes that are affordable across the city each year. This will be a major challenge to ensure those whose income is lower than the city’s average can get decent and secure housing. This funding is a great boost for new homes in the city.”