GMCA picks first projects to benefit from devo cash
More than 4,000 homes across 58 schemes have been earmarked to receive a third of the £150m of brownfield funding the combined authority was awarded by government as part of its trailblazer deal.
At a meeting next week, the GMCA will set out how it plans to spend the first of three years’ worth of grant funding as part of the deal announced in March.
A total of £51m has been committed to support the delivery of housing projects across the city region.
In total, the grants will unlock 4,300 homes and each unit will benefit from an average of £11,600.
Some 83% of the 58 schemes include some affordable housing, of which 30 will deliver more than 50% affordable homes, according to a GMCA report. The report adds that 67% of schemes include “low carbon measures”.
Four of the projects will be delivered directly by local councils, 40 are being developed by registered providers, and 14 by private sector companies.
Housing association Great Places is in line to receive £8.4m to unlock 357 homes across nine schemes in six different GM boroughs.
The largest private sector beneficiary in the first round of awards is Kellen Homes, the housebuilder founded by Renaker managing director Daren Whitaker, which will get £8.15m across three schemes in Manchester, Bury, and Salford.
Downley Drive is one of nine Great Places to benefit. Credit: via planning documents
Kellen will also receive the single largest award: £4.6m for its 272-home redevelopment of the former Olympic Freight Terminal in Ardwick. This project was recently forward-funded by Sigma Capital.
Other private sector developers that are to benefit from a share of the brownfield grants include Capital&Centric, McGoff Group, Citihaus, and English Cities Fund.
Other notable mentions include £1.6m for a 128-home scheme on Rodney Street in Ancoats for This City, Manchester City Council’s housing delivery company, and £2m for Landacre’s 410-home redevelopment of the former Manox Works in Miles Platting.
Of the first 58 projects earmarked to get some of the trailblazer cash, 27 are in Manchester – including 17 from the council’s Project 500 list – and 31 are across the other nine boroughs.
A full list of the schemes can be found in the GMCA report.
Related Articles
Analysis
IN FOCUS | Airport City’s MIX MANCHESTER makeover
After two years of tight-lipped silence, Manchester Airports Group Property Director Gareth Jackson is ready to unveil the reworked and rebranded 60-acre airport site – leaving the world of offices behind in favour of advanced manufacturing, science, and innovation spaces.
“Some 83% of the 58 schemes include some affordable housing” – surely this funding should only be awarded to projects that have a sufficient proportion of affordable housing, and definitely not to any projects without affordable housing???
By Anon
@anon – whilst I agree that public support should require at least policy compliant AH, many schemes that need grant monies might not be delivered without such support.
By Ardy