When Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) announced its simultaneous proposals for the regeneration of College Bank and Lower Falinge, on the 24 June, they were presented as the only solution and as somehow being radical. The proposals are certainly radical in terms of demolition. There will be an estimated loss of 720 primarily social rent properties […]
Salford apartments branded ‘Downtown Manchester’ flogged to Knightsbridge investors
Guest article from the irrepressible Salford Star: Luxury flats in Ordsall, already branded ‘Downtown Manchester’ by developer, Villafont, are being flogged to the rich in Knightsbridge as investment properties, promising a yield of 7%, with an average price of around £270,000. When planning permission was granted by Salford City Council two years ago, the developers […]
Who is this city for?
Rochdale Councillor John Blundell, who is a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority Planning and Housing Commission, last week published a piece in Manchester Confidential entitled ‘Why foreign property investors are not a bad thing for Manchester‘. We welcome his willingness to participate in public debate about the future of our city region, but […]
Northwards Housing tenant wrongly accused of missing rent payments uncovers system error occurring 6482 times
A social housing tenant has been repeatedly wrongly accused of missing rent payments, causing him considerable stress. Appealing to the Housing Ombudsman the tenant was told that “mistakes happen”. But the tenant has uncovered evidence that the errors occurring in Northwards Housing’s rent payment system, causing them to wrongly accuse him, have happened 6482 times. […]
Who Let Grenfell Burn ?
Manchester poet Tom Skinner wrote this two days after the fire in Grenfell Tower. “It was a response to seeing the government trying to dodge the guilt of what they have allowed to happen”, says Tom. It’s based on Bob Dylan’s song Who Killed Davey Moore. Who let Grenfell burn, Who’s to blame, what can we […]
Emotions run high at GM mayoral hustings on the housing crisis
Mayoral candidates for Greater Manchester (GM) were left in no doubt about the dire effects of the housing crisis on its citizens at a hustings to discuss the issue. The panel were bombarded with questions and statements, often with distressing accounts of individual cases, over a broad range of issues including poor housing conditions, the […]
Free autonomous art festival at old Cornerhouse holds finale event this weekend
An autonomous art collective named Loose Space has been running a free arts festival from the old Cornerhouse building in Manchester City Centre for the past two weeks. The festival culminates on Saturday 1 April with a ‘Mystik Masquerade’ ball. The iconic building, which is owned by Network Rail, has been left vacant since the […]
Mayoral hustings on the housing crisis in Greater Manchester
A chance to publicly challenge the mayoral candidates for Greater Manchester on their plans to tackle the housing crisis in the region is being offered at a special hustings at St Philips Chapel, Salford on Monday 3 April. There are many factors that contribute to the housing crisis, including rising rents/house prices, cuts to local […]
What would you change about Manchester?
In the last episode of ‘The Meteor Asks Manchester…’ residents spoke about the changes they have seen Manchester go through, both good and bad. This episode explores how people might want the city to change for the better – a difficult question to answer on the spot. Residents’ aspirations for Manchester included ending homelessness, greening […]
Mayoral candidates for Greater Manchester on the housing crisis
Housing is a basic human right. Yet for many across Greater Manchester (GM) that right is not being met. Increasing numbers of people are falling through the UK’s’ social security safety net and becoming homeless. Poor housing conditions and rocketing rents are rampant across the region, and there is a severe shortage of new homes […]