BUILD YOUR OWN
RESOURCE LIBRARY
Opinions
How AI will define cities and mobility in 2026Sponsored by ST Engineering
Why water must lead the smart city conversationSponsored by Bentley Systems
Manchester City Council establishes housing development company
Company will focus on high quality, low-carbon homes and will deliver a mix of accessible rent and market properties, with the latter helping to subsidise the development of homes priced at or below the Local Housing Allowance rate.
Manchester City Council is launching a housing development company in a bid to to accelerate the number of new homes being built in the UK city.
This City will focus on high-quality, low-carbon homes and will deliver a mix of accessible rent and market properties. The latter will help to subsidise the development of homes priced at or below the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate. This means the homes will be accessible to people in receipt of housing benefit.
Scaling up accessible housing
This City is a new concept that will allow the council to take control of part of the affordable housing delivery pipeline and has the ambition to scale up to deliver up to 500 new homes each year, increasing the number of accessible rent homes available to Manchester citizens.
The first development site will be on Rodney Street in Ancoats. Wates Construction has been appointed as the lead contractor responsible for delivering the 128 apartments and townhouses, 30 per cent of which will be for accessible rent.
All future This City developments will include a minimum of 20 per cent accessible rented homes on completion, which will be available at or below the Local Housing Allowance level.
“Seeing more homes at accessible rent is a real challenge in the city centre, so we’re building our own. We will grow the potential of the company to deliver around 500 properties each year, using council-owned land to maximise our investment”
Manchester is on track to exceed the city’s target to help build 6,400 new affordable homes between 2015 and 2025, accounting for at least 20 per cent of the city’s pipeline of 32,000 homes. Now, more than 7,000 affordable homes are expected to be built by 2025.
“Manchester has some ambitious and radical plans to see more homes built in our city that everyone can afford. Every resident in our city should have access to a good quality home and Manchester is leading the way in building our own homes as part of this,” said councillor Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council.
“Seeing more homes at accessible rent is a real challenge in the city centre, so we’re building our own. That’s why I’m really pleased to launch This City with the development plan for Rodney Street, helping to meet demand for accessible rent homes.
“There is a lot more to come from This City. We will grow the potential of the company to deliver around 500 properties each year, using council-owned land to maximise our investment in new housing. And we hope to bring forward new sites quickly – so watch this space.”
The Rodney Street development will also include high quality facilities for residents, with public green space accessible to all being a key element of the final proposals, complementing the wider public realm proposals for the local area.
Read More
The site forms part of a coordinated phase of development by the city council, Manchester Life Development Company and Great Places across four underused sites in the Poland Street area of Ancoats and two sites in New Islington to deliver 400 new homes to meet a range of housing needs in support of Manchester’s housing requirements, and space for more local businesses and the community.
This phase builds on recent regeneration successes to further the evolution of Ancoats into a sustainable neighbourhood that is more attractive to people and families keen to settle and stay in the area.
Wates Construction, which is part of the leading privately-owned construction, residential development, and property services company Wates Group, will work closely with its technical excellence centre to design and build homes using the latest technology and construction materials. It will create energy efficient properties that not only ensure lower energy costs for residents, but also contribute to Manchester’s 2038 zero-carbon ambitions.
The project builds on Manchester City Council’s existing relationship with Wates Group, which has seen Wates Residential and Wates Living Space deliver a number of schemes in the city including Ben Street and the Manchester Housing Investment Fund project.
Planning applications for the Rodney Street site are expected to be submitted in Summer 2022.
Why not try these links to see what our SmartCitiesWorld AI can tell you.
(Please note this is an experimental service)
How will This City ensure homes meet low-carbon standards effectively?What strategies will subsidised market properties use to support affordable rent?How does Rodney Street development integrate public green space for residents?In what ways will council-owned land maximise investment in new housing?How will Wates Construction contribute to Manchester’s 2038 zero-carbon goals?Latest City Profile
SmartCitiesWorld Newsletters (Daily/Weekly)
You may also like these related articles...
BECOME A MEMBER
© 2026 SmartCitiesWorld
Smart Cities World Ltd, 27 Clements Lane, London, EC4N 7AE