Housing the Powerhouse: Calls for increase to Manchester homes pipeline
The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and the Home Builders Federation, alongside residential developers including Peel, Barratt, Taylor Wimpey and Himor, have launched a campaign to increase housebuilding targets across Greater Manchester.
The Housing the Powerhouse campaign is in response to the emerging Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, the overarching development plan document for the 10 local authorities forming the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities.
During an early-stage consultation on the vision and scope of the plan held at the end of 2014, many respondents said the proposals lacked ambition and included too low an estimate of housing numbers and employment growth.
Housing the Powerhouse aims to “prompt a conversation about the importance of housing to Greater Manchester’s burgeoning economy. It also encourages a debate about how Greater Manchester’s thriving technology, manufacturing and logistics sectors can be supported through the planning system.”
Research by Barton Willmore commissioned by the campaign, supported by the HBF’s Economic Footprint of House Building report, has found the amount of new homes being delivered each year needs to be increased from 11,000 currently proposed by Greater Manchester’s leaders to 16,000.
According to Housing the Powerhouse, this increase would:
- Provide enough homes to meet current and future needs, rather than a predicted shortage of around 100,000 homes
- Provide the type of homes that meet people’s needs, in particular family homes
- As a result, ease pressure on local housing markets through greater completion and choice, helping to reduce ‘pricing out’ and assisting with housing affordability
- Boost the supply of affordable housing to help meet the growing waiting list which currently stands at 85,000
By planning for 16,000 homes per year rather than 11,000, Housing the Powerhouse believes that the Greater Manchester economy would benefit from an additional:
- 15,000 construction jobs, generating an additional £8bn in GVA
- 100,000 more families, boosting retail and leisure expenditure by £1.7bn per annum
- £175m per year in local authority Council Tax receipts
Housing The Powerhouse is a campaign led by the Home Builders Federation and backed by housebuilders, developers and investors, including: Ainscough Strategic Land; Barratt Developments; Bloor Homes; Gladman Developments; HIMOR Group; Jones Homes; The Emerson Group/Orbit Developments; The Peel Group; and Taylor Wimpey.
The campaign is backed by Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce.
More information on Housing The Powerhouse can be found at www.housingthepowerhouse.com, where people are invited to find out more about the campaign and pledge their support for building more homes.
To view the research by Barton Willmore click here
To view the HBF report ‘Economic Footprint of House Building’ click here