Manchester Crane Survey: Delivery of new homes breaks records
Deloitte’s research found that more than 5,500 new homes were delivered in 2021 within the city centres of Manchester and Salford, the largest number since the annual survey began in 1999.
In 2020, 4,914 homes were completed.
The release of the annual survey showed an overall slowing down of construction during the past year, but Deloitte partner Simon Bedford did not seem particularly bothered by the figures.
“Despite the overall level of construction cooling down from an intensely busy period of city centre regeneration, it’s encouraging to see resilience in activity across Manchester and Salford,” Bedford said.
“As restrictions continue to lift and uncertainty wanes, the city has plenty of opportunity with a healthy pipeline of development, especially in mixed-use schemes, pointing to confidence in regional city centres.”
Deloitte partner John Cooper explained how the year had brought change to the way city centres are developed.
“The pandemic has brought many changes, from the way we work to our retail habits. Regionally we’re seeing this reflected in schemes switching use to fill gaps in areas of surging demand. For example, in Manchester, department stores are to be flexibly repurposed to satisfy the demand for new workspaces,” Cooper said.
“There are a spate of exciting developments across the education sector in particular, with construction of new higher education facilities closely linked to the jobs and skills needed to diversify the economy and support business growth. Not only will this help to attract younger people to study but also potentially live and work in the centre – contributing to Salford and Manchester’s growth.”
Breaking down the survey’s key findings
Housing
Central Salford played a large role in the housing completion figures, making up 53% of the list. Deloitte credited the numbers to the finishing of Embankment West, The Filaments on Gore Street and the second phase of Middlewood Locks.
However, there were only 10,717 homes under construction in 2021, down by more than 1,500 compared to 2020.
Deloitte partner John Cooper said this was still good news.
“Whilst there are robust levels of construction for new residential developments, levels are reaching a more stable point of equilibrium,” Cooper said, “Yet, despite fewer residential units underway, it is key to note that overall volume of residential properties under construction remains the highest of any city outside of London.”
Within the residential sector, student accommodation slowed, with only two purpose-built student accommodation schemes under construction in 2021 – 84 Cambridge Street and Echo Street. Together, they meant only 304 new beds were being built for students in the city – down 58.5% compared to 2020 and 78% compared to 2019.
Education and research
It wasn’t all bad for education.
The opening of the Manchester Engineering Campus helped Manchester secure a new record for new education and research floorspace with Deloitte, which observed that 938,876 sq ft of space was completed last year. Research and education developments continue at pace, with another 518,836 sq ft still under construction.
Offices
The push for ESG has spelt good news for office delivery, according to Cooper.
“ESG climate-related targets and occupier demand is set to drive a future pipeline of new building office development with exceptional ESG credentials,” he said.
“It also means an increased delivery of new floorspace being supported through refurbishment projects. Asset managers are looking to build resilience into existing buildings that struggle to meet regulatory requirements, due to be brought in during 2023 and 2030.”
To back up his opinion: the survey indicated that more than 1.34m q ft of new office space was under construction in 2021, of which 43% is pre-let. The survey also noted there was a growing push for retrofitting, with 28% of new office space in the city being refurbishment-based rather than new-build.
- Read more: MOAF: Take-up exceeds 1m sq ft in 2021
Retail and leisure
More than 143,800 sq ft of retail and leisure floorspace completed in 2021, representing an increase of 35% from the year before. That number is also “well above” what the average annual level has been since 2014, according to the survey. Deloitte’s research also showed that more than 477,500 sq ft of retail and leisure space is under construction. Much of this is part of mixed-use developments.
How does Manchester compare? Here’s the number of new starts in 2021 in three other cities Deloitte analyses
- Belfast: seven total, broken down by sector as zero residential, three offices, one student housing, one hotel, two retail/leisure, zero education
- Birmingham: 18 total, broken down by sector as 14 residential, two offices, one student housing, one hotel, zero retail/leisure, zero education
- Leeds: 22 total, broken down by sector as 10 residential, five offices, six student housing, one hotel, zero retail/leisure, zero education
- Manchester: 25 total, broken down by sector as 14 residential, five offices, one student housing, two hotels, two retail/leisure, one education
Deloitte’s Jennifer Chatfield, John Cooper and Emma Gomersal helped create the Manchester Crane Survey. Credit: via mc2
And why is Liverpool not included in the above list?
By Anonymous
Probably because there have been barely any ‘new starts’ in Liverpool city centre.
By The Squirrel's Nuts
Liverpool is closed for business because of LCC. It would be an embarrassment to include it in the list.
By Anonymous