More Power for Communities? We’re working on it…

Kate Parsons | 19 Nov 2025

Its a busy time for community action with important changes in motion.

Below, community leaders from North, Central and South Manchester share the priorities they have organised around through the Manchester Social Housing Commission process and to ensure their voices are heard within the draft Local Plan for Manchester – after something called the ‘Regulation 18 consultation’ closed yesterday. We are also working closely with a coalition of groups in Moss Side who are now looking to establish a neighbourhood forum and create their own Neighbourhood Plan!

At the same time in parliament, MPs are debating amendments to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment bill this week that would include: # Establishing a community ownership fund to enable voluntary and community organisations to purchase assets of community value; # Strengthen options for community stewardship of land and assets; and # Introduce a statutory requirement to assess government performance against its duty to provide:

(i) access to a clean and healthy environment;

(ii) access to land or space to play, roam, and swim;

(iii) access to land for food growing;

(iv) the ability to contribute to and challenge decisions made at a local level;

(v) access to, use of, and ability to propose acquisition of assets of community value.

Community Savers are working with @We’reRightHere and @RightsCommunityAction to advance these forms of #CommunityPoweredPolitics nationally; and also amplifying our community voices across the City of Manchester within the consultation process for the new Local Plan in coalition with @SocialHomes4Mcr.

Collyhurst & Miles Platting

Residents, community groups, churches, and projects have been joining together across Ancoats, Collyhurst and Miles Platting since 2019 through Miles Platting Community & Age-friendly Network or ‘MPCAN’. MPCAN launched the Social Homes for Manchester campaign in October 2023 on the site where they were calling for new social rent homes after a net loss of over 500 homes following a PFI-led regeneration gone wrong. They are delighted that social rent homes will now be built on three of the sites they had been calling to have developed for this purpose and to have achieved an increase from 5% social or affordable rents to 21% social rent in city council policy together with the Social Homes for Manchester coalition.

Sue Anya, Miles Platting Savers and St Georges Youth and Community Centre on social rent housing targets:

MPCAN’s priorities also include:

30% social rent homes as a minimum across the 15,000 homes to be delivered in total through the Victoria North development framework in a context of over 4,600 children living in Temporary Accommodation across the city. And a new district centre to be developed at the crossroads between Ancoats, Collyhurst and Miles Platting including:

A multi-purpose community and social centre, community-led housing, and health and wellbeing joint services centre on the St Cuthberts Church site along the lines of that which was to be delivered under the Miles Platting PFI. Manchester City Council could work with the community and the GM Live Well programme to look at the possibility for a GM Live Well Centre on the St Cuthberts site and help to facilitate NHS partnership for a joint services centre.
Healthy and affordable food retail is desperately needed in the area with a volunteer run social supermarket the only way for residents of Miles Platting to access healthy nutritious fruit and vegetables without taking two buses to the nearest supermarket.
Health and wellbeing leisure facilities such as a leisure centre and library to replace that which was demolished.
Health infrastructure is desperately needed to address rapidly increasing population including GPs surgeries, dental practices, and specialist clinics tailored to local needs.
Investment in the improvement and protection of green spaces and development of green spaces into active lifestyle zones including through outdoor gyms and community gardens and allotment spaces.
Improved transport infrastructure to enable older, disabled, and people with long-term conditions or mums with lots of children to easily travel between local locations and to food retail and healthy lifestyle venues.
To reconsider plans to build on Vauxhall Gardens which is an important heritage site for the local community
Protection and improvements to existing Gypsies, Travellers and showpeople sites

The Aquarius Community

Tenant organising in the Aquarius estate has a long and rich history dating back to the Hulme Alliance in the 1970s. Most recently Aquarius Tenants and Residents Association, Aquarius Community Savers, Hulme Tenants Union, On Top of the World Project and residents across high rise social housing blocks owned by Guinness Partnership and One Manchester have joined together in their calls to have their neighbourhood recognised as a residential area that is distinct from and requires different forms of planning and housing interventions to the City Centre and Oxford Road Corridor. They are delighted to see their estate has been marked as outside the city centre in the new draft Local Plan but the boundary is currently in the wrong place.

Bernard Sudlow, Aquarius TARA and Aquarius Community Savers, on rezoning the Aquarius estate:

Aquarius tenants and residents and their community associations are also asking for:

The inclusion of Hopton Court and Cooper House tower blocks within the rezoned Aquarius estate as key residential buildings linked to the estate.
For a clear policy statement that: ‘all new homes should be safe in relation to the risk of fire; all new homes should have access to natural light; all new homes should demonstrate how they will be resilient to a changing climate; all new homes should be free from unacceptable and intrusive noise and light pollution; all new homes should not contribute to unsafe or illegal levels of indoor or ambient air pollution and must be built to minimise and where possible eliminate, the harmful impacts of air pollution on human health and the environment; and all new homes should be designed to provide year-round thermal comfort for inhabitants’.
For a policy of at least 30% homes for social rent in all new developments of ten homes or above including a fair proportion of larger family homes not just one and two-bedroom apartments in a context of 4,600 children living in Temporary Accommodation across the city
For stronger wording on developer contributions in line with the National Planning Policy Framework stating that: “the Council will seek contributions from development. These contributions will be relative to the scale and impact of the development and will ensure that Manchester’s communities are not adversely affected by development.’
And, for a new policy on Community Involvement from the pre-application stage that gives communities a meaningful influence over the developments that shape their neighbourhoods and determine their health outcomes.

Wythenshawe Central

Diverse Wythenshawe women have been coming together to identify their priorities for poverty action since 2022, initially through the Women of Wythenshawe initiative, which saw community and faith groups taking action for systems change on Domestic Abuse, Housing and SEND. Now, through Wythenshawe Central Network which to date brings together over 130 local residents and 22 community and faith groups for a stronger voice over their needs and priorities for their own neighbourhood.

Mariam Karim, Better Things Ambassador, presented Wythenshawe Central’s priorities to the Manchester Social Housing Commission in December 2024 which have since been further developed and submitted this week as their ‘Regulation 18’ consultation response. Here, Mariam shares on that experience of participating in the Commission process:

Zoe Marlow, emerged from her community leadership roles with Women of Wythenshawe and as Housing Commissioner to be successfully elected as a local ward councillor for Woodhouse Park in September. Here, she speaks about what it was like to represent Wythenshawe Central Network on the housing commission for the preceding 18 months:

Wythenshawe Central Network’s priorities for the Local Plan are principally focused on the Wythenshawe Town Centre redevelopment within which they are calling for:

At least 600 of all new homes to be for social rent within the Wythenshawe Civic Centre regeneration area to meet genuine local need and to tackle Manchester’s housing crisis.
A fair proportion of low- and mid-rise, family-friendly social rent housing. This is particularly important given that the first three housing developments will be, in the majority, one and two bedroom apartments.
Requirement for leasehold and governance arrangements on new retail, leisure, enterprise and community infrastructure/facilities, which can control the cost of these facilities for local residents both in terms of use (entrance fees/tickets etc) and potential hire or lease such as for small businesses and young entrepreneurs from the local area.
Accountable governance structures for new community facilities to ensure these reflect local priorities and needs long into the future.
Proactive provisions to protect long-term residents from displacement as investment and housing markets change.

The Local Plan process continues. Next year a second draft of the Local Plan will be published and come out for a Regulation 19 consultation and then there will be an examination in public.

For more information or to get involved please visit https://www.socialhomes4mcr.org.uk/get-involved.

Tags:

Collyhurst, CommunityPoweredPolitics, housing, Hulme, Manchester, Miles Platting, MPCAN, RightsCommunityAction, Social housing, SocialHomes4Mcr, We'reRightHere, Wythenshawe

Savers uniting from Middlesbrough to Wythenshawe!

Kate Parsons | 20 Oct 2025

Community Savers leaders had another productive quarterly network meeting on Thursday and were delighted to welcome Rama, Fatima, and Mabintou from Middlesbrough!

Rama is coordinator for a CIO called Creative Minds Middlesbrough and is working with local women to learn from the Community Savers approach and set up their own savings group.

Leadership development, sharing learning and peer support are fundamental pillars of the Community Savers methodology and here Lina – a leader form Dandelion Savers and Wythenshawe Central Network shares on what Quarterly Network meetings are all about:

After a jam-packed morning full of Community Savers business affiliated savings groups from Brinnington, Miles Platting, Hulme and Wythenshawe shared their experiences of setting up and running savings clubs with our Middlesbrough guests. Bridget from MIles Platting Savers reflects on what she was able to share here:

Savings clubs are the building blocks of the Community SAvers approach and contribute significant impacts to financial and social inclusion and wellbeing. For example, our 2024 members survey revealed that:

· 85% of members feel more positive about life

· 81% feel less isolated

· 96% feel more community connection

· 96% saw improved mental health

Community Savers is about much more than saving money however. Through the savings clubs, local residents are able to come together to discuss local issues and soon begin developing their own local initiatives to address gaps and challenges.

Over time, the clubs become organising hubs for a wider network of groups and projects forming neighbourhood networks able to take collective action to reduce inequality and promote a better future for their local area.

For now though, Fathima, Rama and Mabintou will be focusing on getting the hang of getting their new savings club off the ground with support from a shared partner of Community Savers and Creative Minds Middlesbrough – Turn2us https://www.turn2us.org.uk/

Rama visiting from Middlesbrough talking about her experience of attending a Community Saver network meeting.

Fatima from Middlesbrough reflecting on the learning from the day.

Tags:

Community Savers, Hulme, Miles Platting, Mums Mart, Wythenshawe

Whose City? Whose Plan? Local Plan Consultation now open

Kate Parsons | 29 Sep 2025

Manchester’s Draft Local Plan out for 10-week consultation

Manchester City Council released their draft Local Plan for a 10-week consultation period on Monday 22^nd September. You can access the draft plan with full supporting documentation and submit a consultation response here.

The Council will be holding the following consultation events:

Wednesday 22nd October, 4pm-7pm – Gorton Hub, 27 Garratt Way, M18 8HE. The hub is on Hyde Road at the junction with Whitewell Way.
Tuesday 28th October, 4pm-7pm – North City Library, Rochdale Road, Harpurhey, M9 4AF.
Wednesday 29th October, 3.30pm-7pm – Wythenshawe Forum, Forum Centre, Simonsway, Wythenshawe, M22 5RX.
Thursday 6th November, 11am-2pm – Central Library, St Peters Square, City Centre, M2 5PD.
Thursday 6th November, 4pm-7pm – Central Library, St Peters Square, City Centre, M2 5PD.

What is the Local Plan? Why should I care?

All Local Authorities must produce a Local Plan. Topics that Local Plans usually cover include housing, employment, green space, and retail. They also identify where development should take place in a city and where development should be restricted.

If you want a say in what can be developed in your local area and the city – you need to know about this!

Local Plans have a long life-span because they take so long to review each time. The last Local Plan in Manchester was published in 2012 and is still the current policy for the city. Some aspects of Planning are still determined by the Unitary Development Plan that was published in 1995!

This new Local Plan is likely to continue to shape what kinds of housing (and other facilities) can be developed, and where, for at least the next 10 years.

Why is it so important for Manchester communities to submit a response?

Manchester is at the sharp end of the housing crisis in both availability and affordability. There has been a net loss of more than 16,000 social rent homes to Right to Buy alone since 1979. There are now approximately 20,000 households on the waiting list for a home in Manchester. From 2015 to 2023, the city experienced an 84% increase in the average house price paid and a 61% increase in the average monthly private rent (much higher than the England average). These increases far exceed the 18.7% growth in median hourly earnings in Manchester over the same period, contributing to a situation where 1 in 5 households in Manchester are living in fuel poverty.

While the new Local Plan does introduce some welcome increased targets for affordable housing and housing for social rent, it does not go far enough to address the housing crisis amidst a supportive national and city-regional political and funding environment where £39 billion has been invested in affordable and social housing of which SH4M have learned that approximately £2.5 billion will be invested in Greater Manchester.

It is also important to submit any objections to the plan now to be able to participate in later stages of the decision-making process. The process for passing the Local Plan into policy has several stages. After this initial consultation (called a Regulation 18 consultation) there will be a second version published which will also go out for consultation (a Regulation 19 consultation). Then there will be an Examination in Public.

This is a chance for community representatives to address the national Planning Inspector directly at a public event. Only those who have submitted objections during earlier stages of the process will have the right to attend and speak at the public examination of the plan.

At the end of the process, the Inspector will make a recommendation on the Main Modifications required for the Local Plan to pass inspection and be adopted.

As an example, you can view clips from Days 1-5 of an examination of York City Council’s Local Plan from 2018 here. Notice all the white men in suits? This is not what we want to see in Manchester!

But what can I do, really?

This can all feel very technical. You have the power to work together with others and your local councillors to advocate for your community’s priorities for your own local area and for the city. SH4M can help.

Residents and community groups are coming together across the city, within their own neighbourhoods, and to join forces across neighbourhood boundaries, to share their priorities for the homes, communities, and the city they want to live in and co-create.

SH4M’s headline request is for Manchester City Council to include a minimum target of 30% social rent in all new housing developments of ten homes or more in the Local Plan. Research evidence tells us this is the minimum amount we need to address the housing crisis. This is possible to do. Other similar cities are setting targets of 40% and 50% social rent.

Here are some suggestions for how you can get involved and advance your own local priorities:

1. Join the campaign: you will receive information, calls to action, and updates on the process.

2. Invite us to run a workshop in your local area: socialhomes4mcr@gmail.com.

3. Engage your ward councillors: they may be interested to work with you to organise a local meeting to discuss priorities for your local area and represent these through a submission to the Local Plan Consultation when it opens.

4. Submit a response to the Local Plan consultation when it opens. There is more information on the MCC website here: https://tinyurl.com/2h7hc46c.

We will be publishing our own local plan consultation response on here soon. If you are signed up to the mailing list we will share this with you in case you would like to support similar asks in your own response.

Tags:

Community Savers, housing, Manchester, Miles Platting, MPCAN, Social housing, Wythenshawe

Wythenshawe Central Network – Summer 2025 update

Kate Parsons | 11 Aug 2025

Wythenshawe Central Network (WCN) is a women-led neighbourhood forum, constituted in July 2024 to bring together residents and groups to develop a stronger, collective voice on local issues in Wythenshawe. WCN recently affiliated with Community Savers, and includes Dandelion Savers and Mums Mart amongst its membership.

WCN is a legacy of Women of Wythenshawe (WOW) – a three year women-led community action initiative focused on achieving place-based systems change on gendered poverty, funded by the Smallwood Trust. Diverse women’s groups from across the Wythenshawe area joined together to identify the most pervasive issues holding women in poverty locally. Leaders achieved impressive impacts on a range of issues including addressing the crisis in housing, special educational needs, and domestic abuse provision. Women’s groups identified the redevelopment of Wythenshawe Town Centre as a critical moment to ensure that the priorities of women, families and young people, including those with learning disabilities, are put at the heart of local decision-making.

From September to November 2024, WCN held three community workshops inviting residents to have open discussions and share their views. These were some of the top priorities:

Maximise the percentage of social rent homes with provision for a diverse range of tenants, including people with disabilities, older people, overcrowded families requiring larger 3- and 4-bed homes, and women & children fleeing domestic abuse.
Increase the availability and maintenance of better quality & accessible green spaces
Affordable retail and leisure facilities & capped rental prices for local businesses
Training, apprenticeships and job opportunities for young people
A community transport system and increased parking spaces
Increased health, welfare and social care provision to match the increased population

Manchester City Council and the appointed developer MUSE have agreed to meet with WCN leaders in August to listen to their priorities, including for a more inclusive and participatory development process. WCN members are working with urban design consultants to better understand how the development process works and advocate for meaningful community influence.

Wythenshawe Central Network now represents over 20 resident-led and user-led community groups and more than 100 local residents. And they are also working in alliance with Churches Together Wythenshawe who have 15 churches in their membership. WCN are committed to ensuring women, families and young people are at the heart of local plans, and people of all gender-identities and backgrounds are encouraged to get involved. Membership is open to all residents, groups and projects living, working or running activities in the Wythenshawe Central area – please email wythenshawecentral@gmail.com to find out more or if you wish to become a member. You can also sign up to the mailing list to keep informed about upcoming workshops and events.

Tags:

Community Savers, housing, Manchester, Social housing, Wythenshawe

WOW! Celebrating Three Years of Women of Wythenshawe (2022-2025)

Kate Parsons | 31 Jul 2025

Women of Wythenshawe were out in full swing on Saturday evening to celebrate three years of hard work, personal and relational development and social change. The project has brought together nine local women’s groups to identify their priorities and take action on gendered poverty in Wythenshawe:

Better Things Ambassadors
Bright Futures Friends
Dandelion Savers
Know Africa
Lifted Carers
Mums Mart
SEND Together
Well Women
Wythenshawe Women’s Welfare Association

Women of Wythenshawe celebration event group of women laughing and smiling in a conference room — ***‘A Celebration of WoW’, July 2025***

Members from across these groups initially engaged in a series of learning exchanges whereby the women leaders visited one another in their local community settings. Alongside storytelling workshops, learning exchanges, and a co-created skills-based training programme, and gradually sharing and recognising their common experiences, this has enabled women to build their confidence to work with each other, deepen their understanding of their common experiences, and develop strong solidarity relationships.

“Before participating in WoW I have never attended a meeting with lots of people. I was a shy person; and it increased my confidence. It helped me meet with other people without feeling nervous…I feel that individually I have really benefited from being part of the WOW Network, it has changed my life!” WoW Participant

WoW women formed action groups around three main priority issues for women living in poverty in Wythenshawe which they identified as requiring systems change; Domestic Abuse; the Housing crisis; and the system around Special Educational Needs support for children, parents and carers.

Domestic Abuse

The Domestic Abuse Action Group partnered with Wythenshawe Safespots, a survivor-led support charity based in Wythenshawe, and worked with On Our Radar to gather survivors’ experiences and create a series of videos for a specialist online training portal reflecting the diverse experiences of Wythenshawe women. The training portal covers ten different kinds of abuse and survivor testimonies reflecting on the support they received and what would have made a difference. The training is aimed at public sector workers across Wythenshawe, aiming to improve the support received by survivors and will be launched in September 2025.

SEND

Leaders from the SEND Action Group have been busy undertaking training in SEND Law, IPSEA Courses, Mental Health and SEND Awareness to develop their capacity and knowledge to support service-users within their local SEND support groups. Working with SENETA, they produced a series of ‘myth-busting’ videos aimed at parents and carers of SEND children to raise awareness and share knowledge across the Wythenshawe SEND community. They partnered with The Grange specialist school to undertake a Train the Trainer programme. Working through new and existing connections, leaders aim to deliver this training in Wythenshawe schools and raise awareness among teachers and staff members to increase appropriate levels of SEND provision.

“Learning about the current situation in schools and the experiences of people with disability, there are some similarities still to when I was going through the system and it is good to be working on trying to change it… I’d like to see more schools taking up the training we are working on from The Grange and also the Inclusion Quality Mark accreditation.” WoW Participant

Housing and Inclusive Development

Born out of the Housing Action group, the Wythenshawe Central Network is a constituted, neighbourhood forum currently with 20 organisational and 100 individuals across its membership. The network was formed amidst increasing local concerns about what was happening with the redevelopment of Wythenshawe’s Civic Centre. With support from urban design consultants, WoW leaders brought together local residents, community groups, civic and faith organisations through a series of community workshops and a neighbourhood walkabout with local councillors (header image) to map out their hopes, fears and priorities for Wythenshawe. The network has partnered with Churches Together Wythenshawe to advocate for a stronger local influence in decision-making processes and ensure the diverse needs of Wythenshawe’s community are reflected in plans to unfold.

“I’ve learned where to go, and who to approach, and what to say to the people that we are asking things from, whereas two years ago I wouldn’t have had a clue about any of what we are doing now. I’ve learned how to understand the jargon, how to approach things, how to be in the room with so many highly qualified people, but feel that I belong there which is very important because people like me don’t usually feel they belong in that room.” (WCN Committee member and member of the WoW Housing Action Group)

WCN are a key ‘local area team’ within the wider Social Homes for Manchester coalition who have just contributed to an increase in social rent housing targets for the city of Manchester from 5% social or affordable rents to 21% social rent.

Women-led Enterprise

Some women leaders have partnered with Flourish Together CIC to develop their skills and capacity and establish their own social enterprises. Bright Futures Friends are running outdoor learning activities, and exploring becoming incorporated to do SEND awareness training consultancy. Well Women and Know Africa leaders are hoping to set up catering enterprises and we had the pleasure of having their delicious food at our celebration party on Saturday!

It has been an amazing three years of learning, skills-development, challenges, achievement and growth for WoW women. Leaders have worked extremely hard and are keen to continue advocating for systems change on gendered poverty by working closely in collaboration with local councillors, partner organisations, and most importantly each other.

“Someone once said that unity is strength and that is certainly true of the Women of Wythenshawe project. Having the opportunity to be part of a hugely varied and diverse group of women, sharing experiences from different perspectives and experiences only makes this incredible group of women stronger in their pursuit of systems and policy change and in support and understanding of each other.” Wow Partner

Tags:

Community Savers, housing, Manchester, Social housing, Wythenshawe

What does Reeves’ announcement mean for Manchester’s homeless and overcrowded families?

Kate Parsons | 12 Jun 2025

Photograph of the houses of parliament in London

The Manchester Social Housing Commission welcomes Rachel Reeves’ announcement of £39 billion for social and affordable housing, but questions remain on social rent..

Residents from some of Manchester’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods today broadly welcomed the Chancellor’s promises of increased funding for new and existing social and affordable housing but deep concerns remain about the cost of living crisis.

Zoe Marlow, Manager of Dandelion Foodbank in Wythenshawe and Community Commissioner said:

“It’s great to hear that the government has nearly doubled investment in affordable and social housing, but I am really worried about the proposed 10 years of above inflation rent increases they have announced in combination with all the welfare cuts.

Here in Wythenshawe, there is a lot of disability – I myself have a long term condition – so a lot of people can’t work – if they are putting up rents, they also need to make sure people have enough to live on. I see mums every week at the food bank who can’t afford to feed their children because of the cost of living crisis so how are they supposed to find even more rent with no additional income for food?”

The Manchester Social Housing Commission was launched in July 2024 in partnership with Manchester City Council, housing and climate justice charities and other social landlords in the city. Commissioners have been producing evidence about the need for a massive boost in long-term investment in sustainable homes for social rent and certainty over rent increases to help social housing providers build more homes and refurbish their existing stock.

Bishop of Manchester, Dr David Walker, who chairs the Commission said:

“We are delighted to see that Government is listening to the many and diverse communities, charities, local authorities, and providers across the country who have been raising their voices for so long on the need for urgent action on the housing crisis.

£39 billion is certainly going to help. But the government needs to go further and commit the majority of that funding to building new homes for social rent with clear and enforceable targets.

Otherwise, we fear that this investment will mainly go towards so-called Affordable Rent, which is usually 80% of market rent and will not help clear the 19,000 households on Manchester’s housing waiting list or the 3000 households living in temporary accommodation.”

The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) contained a number of other positive announcements on housing, including protecting spending on homelessness and rough sleeping, more money for early interventions to prevent homelessness and to support local authorities in England to increase the supply of good quality temporary accommodation and drive down the costs of private provision.

The Warm Homes Plan will also help to cut bills by hundreds of pounds per year for families across the country by upgrading homes through insulation, heating and solar panels.

It comes however in the same week that MPs have been debating the Planning & Infrastructure Bill which is currently a missed opportunity to ensure that these funds for new homes will meet requirements for social rent and sustainability, including a failure to ensure national targets for the number of social rent homes required.

Dr James Vanderventer from Manchester Metropolitan University who also sits on the Commission said:

“There is a lot of good news in the CSR, but building new homes for social rent at scale needs more than just capital and rental income. The government should look at our proposals for changing existing rules on grant funding to enable more flexibility, how to unlock cheaper land for social housebuilding, increase local authority capacity to build, re-use existing empty homes and use the tax system in more innovative ways to incentivise building and retrofitting, and create new revenue streams to help fund it.”

The Manchester Social Housing Commission launched their second policy brief – How to fund and deliver sustainable homes for social rent – ahead of Reeves’ announcement setting out a range of innovative measures through which investments could be made into homes for social rent together with the cost savings that are achieved through social rent delivery.

The Commission’s first policy brief was launched by Community Savers representative for Wythenshawe Central Network Zoe Marlow, and Thirza Amina Asanga Rae in the House of Lords in November.

ZoeThirza-BigBen-1536x1024 — *Zoe and Thirza outside Parliament ahead of their launch of the Commission’s first Policy Brief: Why We Need Sustainable Homes for Social Rent in November 2024.*

Tags:

housing, housing crisis, Manchester, Moss Side, Social housing, social rent, Wythenshawe

Introducing….Roisin and Cat!

Kate Parsons | 23 May 2025

Roisin Anderson – Ageing Well Development Worker

When first I saw the advert for Development Worker for the Ageing Well in Place in Hulme project, I almost didn’t believe it was real. A grassroots, political, genuinely community-led position was something I’d been hoping to find secure work in for years. I feel incredibly lucky!

My background is in community organising, support work and documentary filmmaking. I’ve worked with refugee campaigners, homeless people, and disability-justice groups. In every role and project, I’ve learned more about the central importance of co-production, self-determination and solidarity.

Since starting, I’ve had generous conversations with tenants at Hopton and Meredith and across the Aquarius community. Over a £1 slap-up full English at Hopton breakfast club, a tenant shared how vital it is to sit side by side, share food, and check in on each other. On a cycle to a digital inclusion session, another community member pointed out his great-great-grandfather’s old haunts around Hulme, from when he first arrived after the Irish potato famine.

We’ve relaunched drop-ins where tenants can chat, get support, and share ideas. Two summer BBQs are being planned, and we’re reviving the gardening club at Hopton with a seasonal crop planning session. We’re also working to make meetings with the housing association more regular and accessible. At Meredith, one tenant has transformed the garden into a blooming art exhibition, and we’re planning to build on this and make it a more social space.

In such a short time, I’ve already learned so much from people who’ve been organising and caring for their communities for decades, and this is only the beginning!

Cat Conway – Independent Living Outreach Worker

I have been working as a caseworker for a number of years, supporting victims of crime, people experiencing homelessness, and individuals facing health challenges. I find it very rewarding to work with people on a one-to-one basis, offering practical support, helping them navigate services, and supporting them to improve their well-being. I feel it’s a privilege to get to know people’s stories and life experiences and to get the opportunity to work alongside them and with other services to improve their circumstances.
I had read about CLASS and Community Savers and their ‘Ageing Well in Place’ in Hulme project. I was drawn to how CLASS is working to empower individuals, support their financial resilience, and help them live independently and thrive in their homes. I felt that this was work I wanted to be a part of.

I have now been working in this role for a month and have been so welcomed by the tenants and the CLASS team. I have started to work with tenants on a one-to-one basis to understand their needs and develop relationships with local services. What excites me most about this role is that every day is different. I love the variety that comes with casework, whether it’s practical support, finding out what people enjoy and ways to connect with the community, or simply being there to listen. I look forward to continuing to work with tenants to navigate challenges, and I am excited to get involved and contribute to the important work CLASS is doing across the community.

New Publication: Manchester’s Housing Crisis in Context: Why we need sustainable homes for social rent

Kate Parsons | 21 May 2025

This report provides a baseline evidence review of the scale and nature of the housing crisis in England and its specific trajectory in the Manchester context. It makes the case for higher levels of sustainable social rented housing delivery, including retrofitting existing homes in the City of Manchester to address the housing, climate, and cost of living crises.

Downloadable here