You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Burnham targets 50,000 new affordable homes for Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is aiming to build 50,000 affordable homes, 30,000 of which will be for social or affordable rent, in his plan for the next 20 years.
Announcing the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, the mayor said it “lays the foundations for radical reform” in policy areas including housing.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has rewritten the framework after the previous draft – released in 2016 before the area had an elected mayor – was heavily criticised.
At the time, many respondents said that too much green belt land had been earmarked for housing development and as a result the new plan focuses on brownfield development, prioritising the redevelopment of town centres.
READ MORE
The new plan has reduced the net loss of green belt land by more than half and states that 87% of housing development over the next 20 years will happen within urban areas.
According to the government’s methodology on housing need, 201,000 new homes will be required in Greater Manchester over the next 20 years. In the GMCA’s framework, it said that it would aim to build this number as a minimum. The vast majority of these, it said, will be built in Manchester and Salford.
It said it aims to deliver 50,000 affordable homes in the period, at least 30,000 of which will be for social or affordable rent.
The GMCA, however, held back from setting thresholds or percentages for affordable housing in new developments, as Sadiq Khan has done in London, saying these would have to be set by local authorities.
Mr Burnham said: “The shift towards redeveloping our towns not only breathes new life into them but also relieves pressure to build on the city region’s green belt.
“Towns are ideally suited to a bold new future as centres for 21st century living – they are developed urban spaces with local amenities close by as well as existing transport hubs for our buses, trams, trains and roads.”
The GMCA also plans to release a housing strategy in the coming months, which will include a Greater Manchester definition of affordable housing.
Today it also brought forward plans to consult on creating a Mayoral Development Corporation for Stockport, which would be the first such initiative in Greater Manchester. The corporation is intended to build a new urban village of up to 3,000 homes.
