Introducing… Hannah and Menna!

Kate Parsons | 01 May 2026

Hannah Berry – Social Homes for Manchester Project Lead

Social Homes for Manchester (SH4M) has accomplished a lot since it was launched in 2023 by Community Savers leaders, and a coalition of partners including GM Tenants Union, Greater Together Manchester, Shelter, Mustard Tree, and Steady State Manchester. Not least, an 18 month long Social Housing Commission, which is about to launch its final report and recommendations.

All this has been achieved by people volunteering their time, so having had the fortune to be employed by CLASS as a dedicated project worker for the campaign, I’m eager to see how I can help build momentum and fulfill all the ambitions of the influencing plan!

I fell into community engagement work by accident in 2002, while on a sabbatical from Ethical Consumer magazine, and one job has led to another, culminating in my current role. I set up and coordinated Manchester Women’s Network (bringing together community groups), Manchester Women’s Design Group (to lobby and influence on planning issues), and co-directed a ‘popular education’ organisation which ran workshops in low income areas of Manchester and Salford. More recently, at GM level, I worked for the ‘Ambition for Ageing’ neighbourhood development programme, and the GM Equality Alliance, where I learned a lot about city-wide and regional policy making.

Until last month I was based at Fuel Poverty Action, a straight-talking member-led organisation which fights for warm homes and clean, affordable energy, under the control of people and communities (I really like SH4M’s environmental focus for this reason). I was the Operations Lead, but like CLASS, we were a small team, so I picked up useful campaign skills.

Being involved in GM Housing Action (GMHA), and our community-led housing project, GM Housing Futures (whose legacy SH4M is taking forward), was also a pretty good grounding for this role. What feels exciting, is meeting all the wonderful activists and leaders in the Community Savers network, through whom the campaign already has roots in many wards and neighbourhoods, and the structures and expertise needed to extend its reach. I look forward to posting regular updates on the SH4M news page, and activating the mailing list, as I continue to work alongside the SH4M Steering Group, Community Team and lovely colleagues at CLASS.

Menna Hassan – Independent Living Worker, Ageing Well in Place in Hulme

I began work as the Independent Living Worker on the Ageing Well in Place in Hulme project in March. Working with older adults is incredibly meaningful to me. Every day I have the opportunity to support individuals in maintaining their independence and confidence in their own homes and communities. Sometimes this support involves helping someone access services or navigate housing and wellbeing systems, and other times it simply means listening and making sure someone feels seen and supported.

A key part of my role is also ensuring safety and wellbeing through risk assessments, safeguarding processes and Duty to Refer when appropriate. My goal is always to make sure people feel secure, respected and empowered to make decisions about their own lives.

Tags:

Community-led, housing, Hulme, Manchester, regeneration

Latest Commission report calls for renewed commitment to community-led housing

wp_gms | 17 Mar 2026

Photo of Homes for Change Housing Coop in Hulme

The fourth and final policy brief from the Manchester Social Housing Commission explores the benefits of community-led models for social rent and regeneration and will be launched at Wythenshawe Central Network‘s GM Live Well festival event today.

Manchester Social Housing Commission is calling for a major expansion of community-led housing and regeneration to bring Manchester up to speed with other major cities.

The Commission’s latest policy brief, “Alternative Models for Social Rent,” argues that giving residents a stronger role in designing, developing and managing homes could increase the supply of genuinely affordable housing while strengthening communities across the city.

The report highlights how community-led models – including housing cooperatives, cohousing, and community land trusts, can rebalance power relations between landlords and tenants, enabling communities to have a more meaningful voice in local decisions and improving health and social cohesion. It urges policymakers to make these approaches a central part of Manchester’s housing strategy. Despite Manchester’s history as a pioneer of cooperative housing, the report finds that Manchester has fallen behind other major cities like Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and London with community-led housing currently representing a tiny share of the city’s homes.

David Rudlin, Commissioner and one of the founders of Homes for Change housing coop in Hulme said:

“Manchester has a long tradition of residents coming together to provide homes for each other,” the report states. “But these approaches play almost no role in our current housing strategies, despite strong evidence that they have delivered both affordability and wider community benefits in Manchester and across the country.”

Healthy lives – not just bricks and mortar

The report argues that the current housing system treats residents primarily as ‘customers rather than citizens’ with no meaningful voice in decisions about their neighbourhoods.

Community-led housing models change that balance of power by giving residents direct roles in ownership, governance, or management of housing developments. Evidence cited in the report suggests these models can deliver:

High-quality and responsive housing management
Lower rent burdens relative to household income
Improved public health and reduced loneliness
Greater social cohesion and local participation
Protection against displacement and gentrification

Community-led developments also protect land and assets for community benefit in perpetuity, reinvesting profits locally and maintain long-term affordability, helping safeguard homes for future generations.

Four opportunities for Manchester

The Commission identifies four key ways community-led housing could grow at scale in Manchester:

1. Community homes within large developments
Major regeneration schemes could allocate a proportion of homes to community-led organisations, allowing residents to co-design or manage housing within large projects.

2. Communities as partners in regeneration
Neighbourhood organisations such as community land trusts could play a formal role in regeneration schemes, helping ensure development benefits existing residents and protects communities from displacement.

3. Development on small public sites
Small parcels of publicly owned land could be made available to community-led groups, following models already used by other UK cities.

4. “Socialising” existing homes
Community organisations could acquire and refurbish empty or poorly maintained properties, bringing them back into use as social housing.

The report also highlights the role that regional bodies such as the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and local authorities including Manchester City Council could play in enabling these approaches through policy, funding and land disposal.

Building on Manchester’s cooperative legacy

The Commission notes that Greater Manchester was the birthplace of the cooperative movement and once played a leading role in community-led housing innovation. Today, however, community-led homes account for a very small proportion of housing in the city.

With housing need continuing to grow, the report concludes that empowering communities to play a larger role in housing delivery could help Manchester build not just more homes, but stronger and healthier neighbourhoods. Andrea Lowman, Commissioner, and Executive Director of Development at Wythenshawe Community Housing Group who will open today’s launch event said:

“At WCHG, we are keen to explore how community-led housing can enable residents, councils and housing providers to work together on regeneration that addresses the housing crisis while also creating healthier, more connected communities. As this report states, “If Manchester truly wants to be a city built on collaboration, these models provide a practical way to make that vision a reality.”

Wythenshawe Central Network will launch the report in partnership with Commissioners and the Social Homes for Manchester coalition at a joint GM Live Well Festival event 3-6pm, Tues 17^th March, at St Andrews Methodist Church in Wythenshawe today.

Header image credit: Homes for Change housing cooperative in Hulme, Manchester.