Manchester City Council promises that 3,000 of the homes being developed in the enormous Northern Gateway development will be affordable housing. But close to 86,000 households in Greater Manchester are on the social housing waiting list, and homelessness is visibly increasing. Affordable housing is unaffordable to many in Manchester. So who is this development actually […]
Interactive map shows extent of offshore companies owning property in Greater Manchester
Offshore company ownership of property is on the increase across Greater Manchester. Now you can see who these overseas companies are and where the properties they own are located using an online interactive map created by The Meteor using the latest information from the Land Registry database. The map reveals overseas companies that bought property […]
Can alternative models of ownership alleviate the housing crisis?
The housing crisis is a prime example of the economic term market failure. Politicians of different stripes have followed policies, introduced by Margaret Thatcher, of increasing market forces in the housing market, by promoting private ownership of homes, and degrading social housing by selling it off with heavy subsidies – while promising but failing to […]
How austerity is killing legal aid and restricting access to justice
We often see law as the means of pursing justice in cases of criminal action, the violence of an assault or the calculated theft of property. But it also concerns what we consider daily issues, our right to welfare while unemployed, to have a safe roof over our head and the right to live in […]
Cities are recognising the dangers of speculation and big capital: what will Manchester’s politicians do next?
With thousands of housing units being built in across wards including Deansgate, Piccadilly and Ancoats, central areas of Manchester have now become a key investment ‘hot-spot’ for profit-seeking finance that cares little for local communities. This rampant speculation, surge in international investment and links to rising rents, displacement, homelessness and destruction of heritage and culture […]
Dramatic rise in tax haven companies owning property in Manchester mimics the city’s growing skyline
Property in Manchester is not only reaching for the sky: its ownership is extending across the globe. With investors keen to cash in on the lucrative high rise luxury housing boom in Manchester city centre, the number of properties owned by companies registered overseas has risen by 8.8% in just eight months. Tower blocks are […]
99% of Manchester rooms to rent advertised are unaffordable or unavailable to young people claiming welfare
In some areas of the UK just 1% of rooms advertised for rent are affordable and available to young people claiming social security, according to research carried out by the Social Security Advisory Commitee (SSAC). Manchester was not included in the SSAC’s results so The Meteor repeated their research method and extended it to cover […]
Burnham’s battle to end rough sleeping by 2020 – can he do it?
Andy Burnham’s pledge to end rough sleeping by 2020 played a large part in the campaign which saw him become the Mayor of Greater Manchester ten months ago. Burnham inherited a growing homelessness and housing crisis which has seen the level of rough sleeping rise 13-fold in Manchester since 2010, with the problem escalating quicker […]
Andy Burnham to hear of tenants’ struggles at Manchester Renters’ Forum
The ever increasing number of renters fed up with poor housing conditions, rising rents and bad landlords will have a chance to vent their frustrations at a Manchester Renters Forum on the 1 March. Two people with the power to influence the housing situation – Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, and Paul Dennett, City […]
Why is the Labour Party falling out over Haringey?
Haringey council leader Claire Kober announced she would stand down last week, following an intervention by Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) into the dispute within the Haringey Labour party over a controversial regeneration plan with Lendlease, a private developer with a dubious history. Kober was determined to press ahead with a plan that had been […]