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 […]
Trafford council spends £38m on investment properties: are they ‘gambling’ with public money?
An investigation into speculative property deals by local government, show the practice is increasing rapidly across England, as cash strapped councils try to survive austerity cuts. Vince Cable, leader of the Liberal democrats described these types of investments as “gambling” and that there was “a very high risk of bankrupting their local authorities”. Amongst the […]
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 […]
Trafford Housing Trust install faulty heating system, overcharge by double for years then only pay partial refund
A refurbishment program which promised an improved heating system for Stretford House in Trafford, turned into a lengthy ordeal for the tenants who have shivered their way through the fitting and subsequent multiple repairs that took years to complete, and then were forced to pay way over the odds for a still problematic heating system. […]
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 […]
What links ISIS, the al Nusra Front and genocide in Darfur to the Manchester property market?
The housing development boom in Manchester is gathering pace. Skyscrapers are rearing up across the city, with many more in the pipeline, while a housing crisis continues for many. An increasing number of these luxury high rise apartments are being snapped up by overseas companies, the ultimate owners of which are often shrouded in the […]
Developers are turning our heritage into profit, and we’re paying them for the pleasure of it
Flats at Crusader Works, one of the largest surviving textile mills and new luxury property venture by Capital & Centric where one bedroom apartments are going for heady sums upwards of £189,000, are on sale again. Since the project began the MEN has released a slew of articles gushing about how the development, on Chapeltown […]
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 […]
We stand together – do we really?
Just over a year ago, 22 people lost their lives and 120 were injured at the Manchester Arena Attack. It was a horrific hate driven act of mass murder, and my heart goes out to everybody affected. One year on, 15,000 people gathered in Albert Square to pay their respects. The power and energy created […]