One of the first things Bev Craig did as council leader was to up affordable housing targets. Nearly four years on, Ethan Davies reports on the effects of that decision(Image: LDRS)

In June, 19,976 people were waiting for a council house in Manchester. In July 2023, there were 15,958 waiting.

In those two years, thousands of new homes were built in the city centre, often for sale or rent at prices people searching for a council house cannot afford.

Although councillors require developers to make 20pc of any new housing project ‘affordable’ if they will make a 20pc profit — a threshold set nationally by the government — few developers meet that margin, according to independently-conducted ‘viability assessments’ used to decide if affordable units should be included.

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But in the last few months, something new is happening with housing in town.

It’s a trend which began in 2022, when then-new council leader Bev Craig changed the housing strategy to build 10,000 ‘genuinely affordable’ homes in a decade.

Immediately after that, more and more affordable projects secured grant funding to get building off the ground — and the city centre is now seeing the benefits.

These projects are typically smaller than the skyscrapers which now define Manchester. But that doesn’t mean they’re not as iconic.

Ancoats Dispensary, a converted Victorian hospital home to 39 affordable apartments on Old Mill Street, is one such affordable development.

(Image: Sharon Davies)

The funky-shaped houses of nearby Islington Square are another. Both are managed by Great Places, a Didsbury-based housing association which manages more than 300 homes across New Islington and Ancoats.

And after winning £7.6m of Homes England and GMCA grants, Great Places is building around another icon which the Local Democracy Reporting Service toured last week (August 20).

On Pigeon Street, just inside the Northern Quarter next to Diecast and the Great Ancoats Street Aldi, it’s constructing 89 affordable flats around the grade II-listed Armitage showroom.

“It’s called Dovecote House because it’s based on Pigeon Street. We did not want to call it Pigeoncote,” joked Paul Taylor, Great Places’ development programme manager.

(Image: OMI architects for McCauls via planning documents)

Some 31 flats will be available to rent at ‘social’ prices, and 58 will be made available through the rent-to-buy scheme, when they open next summer.

Tenants will lack amenities modern ‘luxury’ developments have, like gyms, pools, a car park, or a concierge. But there’s a garden, bicycle storage, room for an office nook or walk-in wardrobe, terraces for a few flats and juliette balconies for others.

And the selling point of Dovecote House is that one- and two-bedroom apartments, available at no more than 80pc of the market rent, are large.

(Image: LDRS)

“We would not do anything below 45 m² for a one bed,” explained Nick Gornall, director of development.

“That’s not for us. We are long-term asset holders, so we want to keep customers in and avoid tenancy turnover. A good size unit is key to us.

“In our two beds, we want them to be able to have four people in. A couple could outgrow it quickly with children, so having a good size second bedroom is really important. Our minimum [for a two-bed] is 57 m², average for two-bed here is 62 m².

“We want people to come and stay. We do not want people to come for a couple of years and go. Having that churn means people will not stay and will not build a community.”

(Image: LDRS)

Dovecote House, Ancoats Dispensary, and the £19.4m, 75-flat Downley Drive project show Great Places’ commitment to building affordable homes in the city centre.

The council has put its money where its mouth is on the matter, using wholly-owned subsidiary This City company to construct 129 homes at No. 1 Ancoats Green, 30pc of which are available for rent at Manchester housing allowance rates. It also has plans for a similar-size project on Postal Street in the Northern Quarter.

All of this comes as the town hall updates its local plan for the first time in 13 years.

Campaigners have called for every development to include 30pc affordable housing, which was confirmed earlier this week.

Should affordable housing targets increase, it could be a win for campaigners and could help ease pressure on Manchester’s housing waiting list — but only if the blueprint actually leads to affordable construction on-the-ground, a problem which hampered its current local plan.