Andrea Sandor argues why we should use the Netherlands as a sustainable development model for integrated housing and transport, and not the USA. Attending a talk by Transport for New Homes (TfNH) recently I was delighted to discover their strapline is “Sustainable development or mini America”. As someone who grew up in America, I fully […]
Mayor Andy Burnham announces plans to make Greater Manchester a ‘Co-operative Zone’
Making progress on his previous promise to make Greater Manchester “the most co-operative region in the UK” Andy Burnham releases the report to turn that plan into a reality. Mayor Andy Burnham announced plans to turn Greater Manchester (GM) into a designated ‘Co-operative Zone’, with dedicated resources to offer business advice and support for new […]
Two thirds of Greater Manchester residents slate lack of education, sports and health facilities in planning
Council planners have little thought for infrastructure or community, say the majority in a poll of Greater Manchester residents. Guest article from the Salford Star. A new Future Communities Report has found that two thirds of Greater Manchester residents feel that too much focus is being placed on the construction of new homes, as opposed […]
Proposed Order will ‘create a hostile environment for homeless people’ in Manchester city centre says open letter to the council
Manchester City Council will meet tomorrow to discuss the introduction of a controversial Public Space Protection Order. Fifty eight signatories to an open letter are calling on the council to oppose the proposal, which they claim will be severely detrimental to homeless people within the city centre. An open letter addressed to Manchester City Council […]
Former UN special rapporteur says city development should ‘create landscapes for life, not landscapes for rent’
Professor Raquel Rolnik, a former UN special rapporteur, condemned the financialisation of housing provision in cities across the world, which she says is responsible for rising rents, increasing evictions and homelessness in many countries. Rolnik says neoliberal economic philosophy underpins this radical change in housing provision, which is failing to provide housing to those most […]
Manchester declares a climate emergency: what next?
By Manchester Labour for a Green New Deal: Manchester City Council declared a climate emergency on Wednesday. In following the lead of Parliament, which made history by being the first in the world to declare an emergency on the 1 May 2019, the council add their name to a growing list of public bodies that […]
Food Poverty Action Plan aims to tackle hidden crisis in GM
The latest estimates are that 620,000 people in Greater Manchester are living in poverty, and struggle to put food on the table. Of those, around 200,000 are children experiencing food poverty. £30 billion per year has been cut from welfare budgets since 2010. By 2020, Local councils will have lost 60% of central government funding […]
A Green New Deal could alleviate the housing crisis and climate change
Jonathan Atkinson from Greater Manchester’s Carbon Co-op, looks at the key issues concerning the Green New Deal and the multiple beneficial outcomes that could be brought about by its implementation. People wanting to learn more about the Green New Deal can do so at a free event this Friday at the Friends Meeting House in […]
Tenant rights campaigners victorious over government plans to scrap ‘no-fault evictions’
A coalition of housing activists are celebrating a campaign victory as the government announced its plans yesterday to abolish “no-fault evictions” under Section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act and introduce open-ended tenancies for private renters in England. Currently, Section 21 allows landlords to evict tenants without giving a reason, after a fixed term tenancy […]
Greater Manchester plan for jobs, homes…and the environment?
After several delays the Greater Manchester Combined Authority has published the new draft of its Spatial Framework. The previous version, published in late 2016 met considerable criticism, especially from groups campaigning on green space but also from other quarters, including our own critique of its assumptions of accelerated “economic growth”. On the other side the […]