GM mayoral candidate Andy Burnham visits The Maples – Sale housing scheme transformed by Trafford Housing Trust

MP for Leigh, Rt Hon Andy Burnham, the Labour Party candidate for the Greater Manchester mayoral election, visited the site of a former infamous eyesore in Sale which is being transformed by Trafford Housing Trust into a stylish and desirable place to live.

The Maples is now the site of family homes and luxury apartments off Cross Street, formerly one of Trafford’s most unattractive landmarks, on one of Greater Manchester’s busiest main roads.

The five family homes at The Maples have all been purchased and the 34 apartments will go on sale in September 2017, while 10,000 sq. ft. of retail space completes the scheme.

The Cross Street development is marketed under the THT’s Laurus brand and displays the Trust’s ‘profit for purpose’ policy in action.

THT develops housing schemes for sale and all profits are used to subsidise the development of other new homes, including affordable housing, mixed-use and assisted living projects in order to deliver social impact in Trafford and across the North West.

Trafford Housing Trust is a progressive housing association which has for the last decade managed over 9,000 properties in the borough.

Edna Robinson, the Chair of Trafford Housing Trust, commented: “It was good to show Mr Burnham one of our developments, and explain to him how we see our profit-for-purpose approach bringing affordable housing for Trafford residents.

“Over the coming years we hope to transform housing across the North West, with our partners, and from applying profit-for-purpose.”

Mr Burnham said: “The region needs more affordable homes in places where people want to live, and the trust’s profit-for-purpose approach is allowing them to build developments that are going to help to tackle the housing shortage in Greater Manchester.

“This is an imaginative scheme regenerating disused shops and flats in a popular residential area and demonstrates what can be achieved when developers and housing providers work closely together.”

Work at the Cross Street scheme started in 2015, the first of a series of housing and regeneration projects being undertaken by THT’s development brand Laurus across Trafford.

The case for more homes in Manchester and the wider North West is well established.  In Greater Manchester alone current supply of new homes is in the region of 4,000 annually, compared with a projected need of over 11,000 per year for each of the next ten years.

The Trust has Development Partner status with the Homes and Communities Agency and was the first housing association to access funding from the £300m Greater Manchester Housing Investment Fund.

Future projects will expand the Trust’s footprint beyond Trafford to other parts of Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Derbyshire.