More Power for Communities? We’re working on it…
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.
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Whose City? Whose Plan? Local Plan Consultation now open
Whose City? Whose Plan? Local Plan Consultation now open
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 22nd 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.
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Community-led placemaking in Collyhurst & Miles Platting
Miles Platting Community and Age-Friendly Network have been busy!
St Cuthbert’s Communities Together
In partnership with the Parochial Church Council, the St Cuthbert’s Action Group successfully set up a new Charitable Incorporated Organisation called St Cuthbert’s Communities Together, which is taking forward the community-led redevelopment of the St Cuthbert’s church. The Board of Trustees are working with architects and applying for further funding to begin working on feasibility studies to take the project forward. Members are hoping that this will provide much-needed facilities including a place of worship, a social hub and bar, a laundrette, health services and housing provision. Plans are underway and this development is shaping up to be an exciting space which will benefit the local community and beyond…
Miles Platting Climate Action
Following their success in creating a Miles Platting Wildlife Corridor through Greater Manchester Green Spaces funding, the Climate Action Group have enjoyed seeing the benefits of interventions across key local green spaces. New trees, hedging, wildlife, flowers & plants have been thriving during the summer and attracting a wide range of biodiversity. Local residents have enjoyed attending local gardening events and look forward to a community orcharding workshop at Chippenham Gardens this Friday 22nd August.
With continued support from Dr Jenna Ashton from University of Manchester and Creative Climate Resilience, the Climate Action Group are looking to fund further improvements, protection, and local engagement across Miles Platting’s green spaces.
Social Homes for Miles Platting
The Social Homes for Miles Platting campaign has been making headway as MPCAN members have been meeting with their local councillors and MP to advocate for increased numbers of social homes. MPCAN’s Anuual General Meeting in July also included a consultation led by PLACED, the community engagement team on upcoming local developments in partnership with Jigsaw Homes.
The wider Social Homes for Manchester campaign saw a big step forward as Manchester City Council (MCC) passed a motion to increase social and affordable housing targets in the city. Where the 2012 policy said that only 5% of new housing developments of 15 homes or more had to be social or affordable, they have now voted for a new target, under which 21% of new housing developments of 10 homes or above must be social rent.
These new targets were a key focus for the Manchester Social Housing Commission, which has MPCAN represented by members Sue Anya and Sheila Davies. The announcement represents a huge success on part of the hardwork and advocacy of community commissioners from Miles Platting, Hulme and Moss Side.
MPCAN age-friendly and action groups are going from strength to strength and their commitment to the community continues to benefit local residents in Miles Platting and Manchester more widely.
If you wish to get involved, please email milesplattingcommunitynetwork@gmail.com
Follow MPCAN on Facebook for regular updates: https://www.facebook.com/milesplattingcommunityandagefriendlynetwork/
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A Big Step Forward
Social Homes for Manchester are pleased to announce that Manchester City Council (MCC) passed a motion last Wednesday 16 July to increase social and affordable housing targets in the city.
Moving away from the 2012 policy where only 5% of new housing developments of 15 homes or above had to be social or affordable rents; MCC have now voted for a new set of targets under which 21% of new housing developments of 10 homes or above must be social rent.
The original motion was brought by the Lib Dems after a Green Party amendment to a motion in February 2025 endorsing Social Homes for Manchester’s ask for 30% social rent was not agreed by council.
The new city policy will require 30% of all new housing developments of ten homes or more to be ‘affordable housing’ of which 21% should be social rent homes, a further 3% is to be Manchester Living Rent (which means within the Local Housing Allowance threshold), and 6% is to be low-cost home ownership options.
The new targets were a key focus of discussion at the Manchester Social Housing Commission on Thursday when Community Commissioners from Miles Platting, Hulme, Moss Side, and Wythenshawe thanked Executive Member for Housing and Development Cllr Gavin White and all elected members for listening to community concerns on the housing crisis:
“Last year when I walked in this room, I just thought no, it’s just going to be a load of talk, and nothing is going to change. But listening to the discussion around this table now, I just can’t thank you enough for all the hard work that you all do. Thank you on behalf of all the residents, and all the communities.” Zoe Marlow, Wythenshawe Central Network.
Councillor Gavin White said:
“We were pleased to see the council giving unanimous support for our view that 30% of our housing delivery should be affordable with 70% of this being for social rent. We all want to see more social, council, and genuinely affordable housing in our city, to tackle the housing and homelessness we face.
It has been good to engage with and listen to the social housing commission over the last year and ensure that our ongoing response and strategy as a council is truly ambitious to meet the needs of our city.
We are pleased to see the recent announcements by the Labour government of £39bn for new social and affordable housing over the next 10 years, with 60% of that being for social rent – we are already in discussions with government about how we can help with the accelerated delivery of these new social and affordable homes in Manchester.”
Next steps
The local plan with these revised targets and policies will be subject to an 8-week public consultation from mid-September 2025. While recognising this big step forward for the city in addressing the housing crisis, for Community Commissioners and the Social Homes for Manchester coalition, concerns remain about what this will mean in practice.
1. The evidence tells us that 32% of new build homes must be for social rent to address the housing crisis across GM.
Robust research into the housing crisis across England provides clear evidence that we need to deliver 32% social rent across Greater Manchester.[i] The Commission’s own evidence highlights the cost savings social rent achieves for government and how social rent is the only tenure that can address the crisis of more than 4,500 children in Temporary Accommodation and nearly 20,000 households on the waiting list for a social home in Manchester.
2. There is a groundswell of political will to build higher levels of social rent, and this is reflected in large increases in national grant.
21% social rent is a big step forward that should be celebrated, but we know that what we really need in Manchester is a minimum target of at least 30% social rent. MCC have been making great progress towards building higher levels of social rent even before Rachel Reeves announcement of £39 billion for social and affordable housing, and Angela Raynor’s follow up call for 60% of the homes delivered to be for social rent.
One example is the development of 69 low carbon homes with 100% available for social rent. Another is the planned development on the former Boddingtons site which is set to include 60% affordable housing including 22% social rent with 55% of this funded through grant and 5% funded through Section 106 contributions.
With such a significant increase in national investment and so much political support for social rent delivery at national and city-regional level, why not aim higher?
3. Developers must pay their share
Increased grant rate should not be an excuse for private developers making millions of pounds in profit to avoid a fair contribution to public benefit in the city.
Our comparative table of a range of English cities shows that historically in Manchester developers have been given a free ride when it comes to making contributions for social rent delivery.
In addition to adopting a minimum requirement of social rent homes on all new housing developments of ten units or more, MCC have the power to set a percentage of social rent homes onsite of every new development, which then puts the onus on the developer to demonstrate through transparent viability if this is not possible. It also gives the local authority more weight in the decision.
This would help avoid viability loopholes that many local areas see when negotiating with big developers via Section 106/planning obligation agreements.
Developer contributions could also be used to retrofit existing poor quality/poorly insulated social homes on a case-by-case basis, which would, where implemented, mitigate damp and mould, bring down energy bills, and reduce carbon emissions.
4. Increased Planning capacity, transparency, and accountability
To maximise the delivery of ecologically sustainable social rent homes we need increased investment in funding for local authority planning departments and capacity building and training for local Planning Committees (something Oxford City Council have done to positive effect).
The Manchester Social Housing Commission are advocating in partnership with others across the country for the protection of community voice and the voice of elected members in planning decisions through the retention of powers of local Planning Committees.
These committees and our Planning Officers need training and capacity building to enable them to understand the complexity of planning issues; to hold developers to account for their obligations; and to implement and enforce planning conditions through to the end of a development process.
All too often developers negotiate their way out of the conditions placed on their planning applications citing a lack of profitability using ‘viability assessments’ compiled by expensive planning consultants.
This must end, and Commissioners continue to work with Lords and MPs to push Government to recognise that they must close the viability loophole and invest in local authority planning departments to ensure they have the expertise, time, and resources to hold developers to account.
Locally, Social Homes for Manchester are asking MCC for a new set of Planning Transparency pages on their website to enable communities to search by ward and at city-scale for local area data on housing need; active planning applications; and levels of social rent requested and delivered through both Section 106 and other forms of investment.
Manchester residents: please sign up to join the SH4M mailing list here.
Ward councillors: please make your pledge to demonstrate your support for a target of 30% social rent on all new developments of ten homes or more.
Manchester-based organisations: please demonstrate your organisation’s support for the six asks of the SH4M coalition – join the coalition here.
Our six asks:
- At least 30% social rent in all new developments of over 10 units.
- Stronger scrutiny and public accountability for the setting and enforcement of Section 106 developer obligations and to focus these contributions on the delivery of ecologically sustainable homes for social rent.
- Establish a Commission on social rent housing for Manchester.
- Develop a practical strategy for how to increase delivery of Community Led Housing and other community-led facilities including from donations of council-owned land.
- Develop a practical strategy for the renovation and transfer of empty homes into sustainable homes for social rent.
- Ensure all new build homes of any type or tenure are ecologically sustainable.
The Commission referred to under (3.) already exists and Commissioners are working hard to explore the evidence base and develop recommendations. You can read more about this at: https://www.socialhomes4mcr.org.uk/commission.
[i] Bramley, G. (2024: p.69), Housing Requirements in England Revisited. Heriott-Watt University https://pure.hw.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/113960635/Bramley_G._HOUSING_REQUIREMENTS_IN_ENGLAND_REVISITED.pdf
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The Untold Stories of Manchester’s Housing Crisis
Tenants need to join forces across Manchester neighbourhoods. This was the key message arising from SH4M’s first film screening and campaign workshop at St Cuthbert’s church in Miles Platting in February.
This was the first in a programme of events that will take place across the city throughout 2025.
What is the City but the People? is a short film co-created by two inspiring women leaders from Moss Side and Wythenshawe to raise awareness about the urgency of the housing crisis across the city.
MPCAN (Miles Platting Community and Age-friendly Network) were the first coalition to host the SH4M campaign to screen the documentary and raise awareness with their local community about easy and urgent actions they themselves can take to support the collective effort to get more social rent homes delivered across the city.
A key focus of the current work is the new Local Plan which will be published for an 8-week consultation in Summer 2025 by Manchester City Council.
Download our Local Plan Handbook here
Download our Campaign Information booklet here
Planning can be very technical and boring! But if you were ever going to engage in planning this is the policy to wake up to! The Local Plan will determine how much housing, what types of housing, and where housing will be developed across the city for at least the next ten years.
Councillors Carmine Grimshaw and June Hitchen were in attendance and promised to add their pledges in support of our headline campaign ask which is for 30% of all new housing developments of 10 homes or above to be homes for social rent. You can view the full list of which councillors have pledged their support here.
You can invite Social Homes for Manchester to come and fun a film screening and workshop in your local area – just email socialhomes4mcr@gmail.com.
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Launch of the Manchester Social Housing Commission
The Manchester Social Housing Commission held its first meeting in July bringing Community Savers leaders together with cross-sector experts to develop local and national proposals for addressing the housing crisis. The Commission is chaired by the Right Reverend Dr David Walker, Bishop of Manchester and supported by the Social Homes for Manchester campaign.
Community Savers representatives from Collyhurst, Miles Platting, and Wythenshawe advocated for 30% of all new housing developments of ten homes or more to be social rented homes that are climate and nature friendly. They also asked housing sector professionals to stop using the term ‘affordable housing’ and refer to housing for social rent or private rent. Communities often think affordable means social, and it prevents them holding developers and the council to account for building the social homes we need.
Zoe Marlow of Dandelion Savers and Women of Wythenshawe said:
“We need to stop blurring the line between social homes and affordable homes and just say which one is which. People are confused.”
The lack of information provided at a community level about developer obligations, or ‘section 106’ contributions, was also raised and Commissioners discussed the need for a review of viability assessments which developers use to avoid these obligations on grounds of low profitability.
Sue Anya of Miles Platting Community and Age-friendly Network (MPCAN) said:
“We need to know where the section 106 money goes. It doesn’t seem to get invested in the community where construction is happening…We also need to have information much earlier – we never find out what is happening until everything has already been decided.”
Families in lower income areas of the city also depend on their own family and social networks for childcare and social care support but Sheila Davis of MPCAN highlighted how children and grandchildren of existing residents are unable to find a social rental home in the same area and can’t afford escalating private rents. Flats let at “affordable rents” cost 80% of market rent but there is no cap on market rent, so these offer no solution to people working for minimum wage or even the ‘living wage’.
Sheikha Omar of Moss Side Tenants Union called for the complete banning of Section 21 evictions, the application of Freedom of Information legislation to housing associations not just local authorities, an end to the sale of social housing to private equity companies, and better controls on rent increases for both social and private tenants.
The Commission will be making policy proposals to Manchester City Council and to the new national government administration in the coming weeks and will be developing the detail of their recommendations over the next 12 months. Community representatives on the Commission will be working closely with the Social Homes for Manchester campaign coalition to organise neighbourhood-based briefing sessions across the city, raising awareness about housing and planning policy and ways to work with local councillors to secure better outcomes for their local area.
Social Homes for Manchester is a coalition of community associations, charities, think tanks, academics and social justice organisations focused on accelerating the number of social homes that are created in Manchester by 2030 and ensuring this is done in an environmentally sustainable way.
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Spotlight on Miles Platting Savers
Read our interview with Dot, Committee Member at Miles Platting Savers, find out about one of the original groups in the Savers Network that is still going strong!
Can you tell us a bit about Miles Platting Savers? When did you start, where and how
often do you meet? How many members do you have?
About 5 years, we meet once a week at the coffee morning at the Church of the Apostles in
Miles Platting. We have about about 20 regulars and 30 savers in the group. We have a mixture of people who come to coffee morning, young and old.
As a group, what would you say are the main benefits for the individuals who save with
you?
It gives them a bit of extra cash to buy stuff they need, people are saving for uniforms,
Christmas and even holidays. I think most of the time you’re saving for something you think you
can’t have, then you realise if you save a little bit you can. There’s definitely a social side to it.
Most people are part of the coffee and some are visiting the social supermarket and they are
savers too. We definitely go in, have a cup of tea and have a chin wag and a catch up.
Has working with the other groups helped Miles Platting Savers to develop, learn, expand
or do things differently?
I think so, we see how other groups do theirs and then think if it works for us we can have a go.
I think it helps just to talk about what other groups are doing.
As well as the savings group, are Miles Platting Savers involved in any other community
projects and what are the impact of these?
We are members of MPCAN (Miles Platting Community and Age-friendly Network) – there’s loads of stuff going on thinking about the community building, the green spaces. I haven’t been to all the recent meetings due to my health but they let me know what’s happening.
What can we expect to see next from Miles Platting Savers next – does the group have
any plans for the future?
There’s a day trip planned to go to RHS Bridgewater so we can go there together in June. May
Fairweather from Talk about Money is going to come in to teach all ages from children to adults
how to save a bit and where to save. They are trying to get the people who use the community
shop (Social Supermarket at the Apostles) who have got kids to get involved, because I think if
you teach the kids the kids can teach the adults. I think that the Talk about Money sessions will
be a good way to get people to come in with the idea of getting the kids to teach their parents to
do a bit of saving.
To find out more check out the Miles Platting Savers page here: https://communitysavers.net/project/miles-platting-savers/
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MPCAN visits Homebaked CLT and Kitty’s Launderette in Liverpool
In November last year, members of the Miles Platting Community and Age-Friendly network (MPCAN) had a day out in Liverpool to visit and learn more about Homebaked Community Land Trust https://homebaked.org.uk/ and Kitty’s Launderette https://kittyslaunderette.org.uk/. Moving forward with a community-led development of the St Cuthbert’s church site, the St Cuthbert’s action group are becoming inspired by other community hubs, gaining ideas they hope to bring to developing a new social space for local residents in Miles Platting. Previously, MPCAN have visited Gorton Hub, Moston Miners and the Carlton Club in Whalley Range- these are great projects we have already learnt lots from!
Homebaked Community Land Trust
Our first stop of the day was Homebaked, where Tom Murphy (local resident, coordinator and secretary) gave us insight into the journey they took to becoming a community- land trust (CLT). This is a not for profit, incorporated organisation established for furthering community benefit. They are run by volunteers to deliver housing and other community assets at permanent, genuinely affordable levels for local people. CLTs allow communities to own, take control of, and develop their own land.
Tom talked to MPCAN members about the challenges that Homebaked have faced, not only from initially choosing a governance model that didn’t work for them, but also being situated just opposite Liverpool Football Club, on the boundary of Everton and Anfield. We learnt more about pros and cons of different legal structures and how they eventually became a community land trust. This discussion was especially useful for the St Cuthbert’s action group as we think about potential governance models to move the project forward into 2024.
Homebaked is currently working with URBED to refurbish the terraced homes on Oakfield Road using a retrofit approach. This aligns with their belief that residents all deserve to live well and have access to warm, affordable homes, alongside good quality jobs, and welcoming spaces for the community to meet, learn, and celebrate.
After an informative tour and chat, MPCAN members made a pit stop to the next door sister organisation, Homebaked bakery, to try their famous pies. Thank you to Tom and Homebaked CLT for sharing your wisdom and knowledge with us! We learnt so much from hearing all about your journey.
Kitty’s Launderette
Next up we went around the corner to Grasmere Street, where project lead Anthony Scott welcomed us into Kitty’s Laundrette. This is a community launderette and social space offering affordable, ecological laundry and dry-cleaning services, as well as a space for local residents to gather. Named after Kitty Wilkinson, an Irish migrant who managed the first washhouse during the cholera epidemic in 1832, Kitty’s Launderette’s main mission is to combat hygiene poverty in the local area.
The laundrette is a workers community cooperative meaning both the workers and the community own and control the space. It is democratically run with regular board meetings involving workers, volunteers and members of the community. They are also a not-for-profit social enterprise, where all profits made are invested back into the local community. Their key areas of social impact include reducing hygiene poverty, providing a sense of community, jobs and inclusive growth, and health & wellbeing.
As Tom also described, Anthony spoke about the local loss of social housing alongside key community-based services such as youth centres and parish halls. Living in the shadow of economic prosperity from the football stadium has had its drawbacks, and the tourist economy has affected the local community. Kitty’s Launderette work to combat this as the space is also host to history talks, weekly knitting and craft groups, film screenings and tie-dye workshops. Last year, they held a total of 48 activities and events!
Anthony also talked us through how the laundrette works- users have the option to do their laundry themselves or leave it up to the workers, with the cheapest wash option being £4. They also take on commercial contracts and often do work for local Airbnbs. People can bring in their own detergent but Kitty’s also sells an environmentally friendly brand called Ecoleaf, which users can refill at the launderette.
Overall, MPCAN members had a great day in Liverpool and brought back tonnes of amazing ideas for the St Cuthbert’s redevelopment project. Thank you so much to Homebaked CLT and Kitty’s Launderette for an enjoyable and informative day. We learnt loads from your brilliant projects and are excited to take this inspiration forward with our plans for Miles Platting!
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Social Homes for Miles Platting Now!
Miles Platting, Ancoats, and Collyhurst residents were out in force on Saturday to call for social homes to be built on a plot of land that has long been earmarked for community benefit.
Over 180 people attended the MPCAN family fun day where members also launched a city-wide campaign for more social homes to be built or brought into use across Manchester amidst a housing crisis in which more than 15,000 households are now on the waiting list for social housing in the city[1].
The Miles Platting PFI regeneration was justified to residents on the basis that there would be a Joint Services Centre providing a suite of NHS services and a Community Hub built at the intersection of Oldham Road and Varley Street behind the current location of Jigsaw Homes offices. This is the site where MPCAN leaders are calling for social homes to be constructed.
The Joint Services Centre was to include three GP practices; a pharmacy; chronic disease management, maternity and children’s health services; drugs misuse and sexual health services; counselling and therapy services; and breast screening and minor surgery. The Community Hub was supposed to incorporate: a new library; new sports facilities; advice and information; services for young people; spaces for community, recreation; and leisure use; and community outreach services.
There was also supposed to be retail facilities and a replacement swimming pool.
These facilities were never developed, and the community have experienced a net loss of 502 social homes following the regeneration (with 240 homes lost to demolition and others through right to buy). Meanwhile, the neighbourhood has been transformed into a landscape of private housing for sale and rent, with no shops or infrastructure to support this new population, creating a food desert, where residents must take two buses to access a supermarket or swimming pool.
Social Homes for Manchester Now!
As well as calling for social homes in Miles Platting, residents launched the Social Homes for Manchester Now! campaign by a coalition of social and climate justice organisations including Friends of the Earth Manchester, GM Tenants Union, Greater Together Manchester, Mustard Tree, Shelter, and Steady State Manchester.
The new spatial framework for Greater Manchester, Places for Everyone, is in the final stage of consultation on modifications which include the removal of specific reference to building social housing (in MM7.5). The new Local Plan for Manchester is being drafted and is expected to be published for consultation in Spring/Summer 2024. Together these policies will decide Manchester’s planning strategy and housing targets for the next 5-10 years.
Social Homes for Manchester Now! are calling on Manchester City Council to take on six key proposals in the context of these new strategic developments which were launched for the first time by Anne Worthington, MPCAN leader and local activist, on Saturday:
Social Homes for Manchester Now! – Six key proposals:
- At least 30% social homes to be included in all new developments of over 10 units to be enacted in local policy and enforced through the setting and enforcement of section 106 obligations.
- Stronger public accountability and scrutiny for the setting and enforcement of developer obligations to build new social housing.
- Establish a Commission on Social Housing for the City of Manchester.
- Create a specific policy for the promotion of Community Led Housing.
- Develop a practical strategy for the renovation/transfer of empty homes into homes for social rent.
- Ensure all new developments are climate and nature friendly.
Download the Social Homes For Manchester Now! briefing to find out how you can Get Involved in this campaign!
Respond to the Places for Everyone Modifications consultation to object to the removal of specific reference to Social Housing in modification MM7.5 here.
MPCAN leaders are now working with other Community Savers affiliates across the city to bring residents together around this campaign and the plots of land in their own neighbourhoods that require Social Homes Now!
[1] There were 14,912 households on the social housing waiting list in Manchester in 2022 and this figure is now likely to be significantly higher. Live tables on rents, lettings and tenancies, Table 600: numbers of households on local authorities’ housing waiting lists, found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-rents-lettings-and-tenancies. We would like to thank Dr Richard Goulding, University of Sheffield, for his support to MPCAN in accessing statistics, research, and information.
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GM Green Spaces Fund invests in Miles Platting Climate Action!
Over £400,000 has been awarded to 16 community-led projects in the latest round of the Greater Manchester Green Spaces Fund. Successful projects are providing access to better green space where it is needed most.
Miles Platting Community and Age Friendly Network (a Community Savers affiliate) are delighted to be one of the Round 3 grantees for their work to develop a wildlife corridor with support from Dr Jenna Ashton at the University of Manchester and a range of other partners:
“The Miles Platting Wildlife Corridor for people and nature will enhance identified spaces and create new habitats in the neighbourhoods of Miles Platting, Manchester. The aim is to improve biodiversity and the local ecosystem, increase interaction and connection between residents and their natural environment, mitigate impacts of climate change, and encourage physical activity between sites and along the Rochdale Canal.” (GMEF, 1Sept 2023)
Community groups who haven’t previously received funding can still apply for support from the Green Spaces Fund, with Round 4 now open.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said:
“Everyone should have access to quality green space and the benefits that it offers our physical and mental health, but the reality is that some areas of Greater Manchester are worse off than others at present.
“That’s why I’m so pleased to welcome the latest intake of Green Spaces Fund projects, all of which seek to redress the balance. I continue to be amazed by the imagination and endeavour shown by community groups applying for support from fund – from green-fingered growers to champions of biodiversity, the projects that we have been able to back so far are really making a difference to their local areas.
“There’s still time to get backing from the fund, so if you have an idea for how to turn your local area green please do apply and help us make Greater Manchester a greener, fairer place.”
Read the full press release here.
Miles Platting Community and Age-friendly Network (MPCAN) established their Climate Action Group after community leaders came together with support from CLASS and URBED to map public and disused sites across their neighbourhood that was not yet earmarked for development and to create a shared vision for the future of the area in consultation with local residents.
Since then, leaders have identified a series of priorities including:
- the protection and improvement of green spaces and habitat creation for increased biodiversity;
- a community-led redevelopment of the St Cuthberts church site into a worship space and community hub in partnership with the Parochial Church Council.
- increasing the number of social homes available in the area after successive developments and a PFI regeneration programme left the community with a net loss of approximately 500 social homes.
Visit www.mpcan.org.uk to find out more and get involved!
Header image: “Swallows” by A Bird in the Hand Theatre at MPCAN’s climate resilience pageant in July 2023.
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