Devo deal ‘will unlock £1.5bn of investment for Manchester’

MANCHESTER’S £300m devolution deal will unlock £1.5bn of investment into the city region in the next 10 years.

This is according to Deborah McLaughlin, North West executive director of the Homes and Communities Agency, which is partner in the Manchester Place housing venture with Manchester City Council.

Speaking at MIPIM in Cannes, McLaughlin said Manchester Place was a collaboration between national and local government and a partnership with the city.

“Manchester is a great city to live and is now widely recognised as one of the most liveable cities in the world ahead of New York, London and Milan.

“It has a growing population, up by a fifth in a single decade, fuelled by the economy which is being helped by well connected public transport, improvements in health services and education.
 
“It is forecast there will be more 100,000 jobs coming into the city region and housing demand is intense. We have pledged to build 55,000 new homes in the city in the next three years, which is three times the rate in recent years.

“We are working together to support the private sector to build and invest in move housing to create quality places where people will chose to live.”

She said Manchester Place was working with landowners and developers to identify new sites for development in Manchester.

“Not all schemes will be viable, yet we will support the long term sustainability of communities, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but to protect investment,” she said.

“We are looking at the capacity of public sector land and working with housing association partners to see if they can accelerate house building. This is not just an ambition, we’ve started already.”

McLaughlin pointed to existing schemes like the HCA Cambridge Street development at the Three Towers in Ancoats, currently being refurbished to be completed and ready for occupation in May.

And she hailed Manchester Life, the first significant investor (the Abu Dhabi United Group), helped by the already-created platform of the public realm work at Ancoats.

Referring to the devolution deal, she said: “The £300m we have been allocated will help us kick start the development pot where people are struggling and create communities.”

The fund would be recovered investment in the form of loans or long term equity, controlled by the new mayor and available in a 10 year time span.

She said the investment fund would go live in April with an investment prospectus to be launched shortly and a credit committee would be formed.

McLaughlin said the new trend of private rented sector (PRS) housing was a “really attractive offer” for new customers coming into Manchester.

“Rental levels are very high at the moment, and there is significant demand in the sector,” she added.

“We are absolutely pro growth. We will work with our investment funds and we are looking to re-write the book in terms of delivery.”