Manchester Labour for a Green New Deal argue that the city council’s plans to turn the former Central Retail Park into a car park will increase traffic pollution, damage health and fail to tackle the climate crisis that the council has previously declared. The proposal by Manchester City Council to develop the site of the […]
Fighting talk from Labour rally this week
On Monday 2 September, the Labour Party held a rally at the Lowry in Salford. I’d only received notification of it the night before, but even at such short notice it was an opportunity not to be missed. A snap general election is likely, and Labour is getting their message out while the current government […]
Hulme residents organise to save Rockdove Gardens
Residents of Hulme’s Bentley House estate – popularly known as the Redbricks – are organising to halt the destruction of a much-loved community garden. The current plans will see 24 trees cut down and a new pedestrian pathway running along the back of then exposed flats. The estate, on the edge of Mancunian Way, is […]
The decision to approve Salboy’s development on Shudehill must be fought
By Labour Councillor Sam Wheeler The decision by the planning committee last week to approve the Salboy’s development on Shudehill is incomprehensible. It must be fought. Last year Salboy, the construction arm of billionaire bookie Fred Done’s empire, put in a bid to build a 13 storey development in the Northern Quarter, one of the […]
Councillors launch petition to block Salboy developing 17-storey glass tower in Northern Quarter
Councillors representing Northern Quarter residents have launched a petition to stop Manchester City Council selling off its land on a site earmarked for a 17-storey tower. The city council’s planning panel approved plans for the 17-storey block of flats by property developer Salboy Limited last week, having rejected the proposals three times previously, for blocks […]
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 […]
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 […]
Can the Homes Act fix slum conditions in the private rented sector?
You move into the only place you could afford in your area. The wallpaper is hanging and bubbling off and there are large areas of mould mottling the walls, like the house has caught some kind of disease. The doors and windows are draughty and there are mouse droppings all over the kitchen. Welcome to […]
Manchester tops local authority league selling 673 public properties in five years, while only buying 165
Manchester City Council has sold off more public property than any other local authority in less than five years. In total 673 properties were sold between 1 April 2014 and 31 July 2018. During that same period the council bought only 165 properties. The scale of property sell-offs in Manchester and across England shows how […]
Victims of an unjust housing system must not be targeted by Public Space Protection Orders
The councils is holding a consultation which could result in the implementation of a PSPO that adversely affect the homeless (see previous report here), including prohibitions on begging and sleeping in tents. The consultation is open to accept public statements until 8 April 2019: Recent proposals from Manchester City Council to bring in a […]