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 […]
No social rent housing built in Salford and just 15 Section 106 houses gained
Guest article from The Salford Star: Latest figures published by the Government for 2016/17 show that no social rent housing was built in Salford, while just 15 houses were gained through Section 106 agreements – all of which were either for the more expensive ‘affordable’ rent or shared ownership. This is just more proof of […]
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 […]
In Salford 79% of Universal Credit tenants are in rent arrears
Guest article from the Salford Star: Figures released in a new report to be seen by Salford councillors next week show that 79% of housing tenants claiming Universal Credit are in arrears averaging £689. This compares with 33.6% of tenants not claiming Universal Credit in arrears with average balance of £414. Campaigners have labelled the […]
Salford Council reveals staggering levels of homelessness
Guest article from The Salford Star: As the Homelessness Reduction Act kicks in this month, Salford City Council is about to publish its new 44-page Homeless Strategy which reveals shocking and staggering levels of homelessness in the city. Included in the report is the fact that Salford has a higher level of rough sleeping than […]
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 […]
Hulme community activist evicted after long battle with social landlord
Ringing last orders, on the bell acquired from the now closed Grants Arms pub in Hulme, Captain Cae 0s was evicted from the flat he called home in the Bentley House estate in Hulme (AKA The Redbricks). This was the culmination of an epic struggle with his social landlord, dating back to early 2015, when […]