Manchester City Council has been granted £51.6m to transform 31 neglected sites into new homes, with over half of them being affordable housing for the people of Manchester. This funding is part of a three-year agreement between the government and Greater Manchester to repurpose brownfield land for housing. The total amount allocated to the region is £128m, with £150m overall.
Some of the housing developments that will benefit from this funding include Victoria North, the former Boddingtons Brewery, Jacksons Brickworks, One Cathedral Square, and several other sites.
In addition to this funding, Manchester City Council has previously secured £3m from the national Brownfield Land Release Fund, which kickstarted the development of the Council’s This City site in Ancoats and various Project 500 housing sites.
These new homes are part of the Council’s ambitious Housing Strategy, which aims to build 36,000 new homes by 2032, with 10,000 of them being affordable. The goal is to have 3,000 affordable homes in the city center.
Cllr Gavin White, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development, expressed the importance of being innovative and utilizing available resources to meet these housing targets. The council sees the abundance of brownfield sites in the city as a tremendous opportunity to provide much-needed housing, especially affordable options. The funding is greatly welcomed and will contribute to the revitalization of these unused areas in Manchester.
