Council houses in Manchester set to be built for the first time in five years

COUNCIL houses in Manchester will be available at rent and managed by Northwards Housing, who currently manage 13,00 council houses.

The council housing affordability policy will ensure up to 2,000 genuinely affordable homes are built each year.

The new homes will be built on small sites in Higher Blackley, Moston and Collyhurst by March 2018.

Subject to planning permissions, the developments will consist of two bedroom homes and two bedroom bungalows.

Sue Abbott, chair of the board at Northwards Housing, said:

“At a time when demand is so high for affordable, quality accommodation, we are pleased to be part of this new development in North Manchester. Northwards looks forward to the completion of the homes and to supporting the families who will live in them.”

The council hopes that the bungalows and smaller homes will allow larger homes that are suitable for growing families to be freed up and made available to those already on the waiting list.

This comes following calls from town hall chiefs to tackle the ongoing housing crisis, which has seen private properties to be inaccessible to many citizens.

The development is a partnership between Manchester City Council and Northwards Housing, which will use funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) through its Affordable Homes Programme.

This means that the houses will be accessible to those in Manchester who earn less than the average household income.

With the town hall and Northwards Housing projected to spend £1 million on the developments.

Construction for the homes will begin in the summer if and when a planning permission is granted.

Developments are expected to be finished in March of next contractor for the project will be chosen in the coming weeks before planning applications are submitted for the sites in spring.

If planning approval is granted, construction will begin in the summer.

Defining what affordable means for the first time, the Council’s housing affordability policy will ensure up to 2,000 genuinely affordable homes are built each year.

These will be accessible to those people who earn less than the city’s average household income.

Cllr Bernard Priest, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, said:

“It’s important that we can replace properties lost to Right to Buy and demolition to maintain the level of homes available. This program will allow us to offer residents a genuinely affordable housing choice, while making best use of development land available to us.”