A liveable and low-carbon city Chapter 5: A liveable and low-carbon city Strategic overview The Our Manchester Strategy sets out a clear We’re working with partners and communities ambition for Manchester to become a liveable to reduce the amount of crime and antisocial The future success of Manchester is inextricably and low-carbon city by playing a full part in behaviour in the city, to provide safer, clean, tied to whether it is a great place to live. This limiting the impacts of climate change and attractive and cohesive neighbourhoods. chapter will: being on a path to being zero-carbon by 2050. Manchester is growing and becoming ever → Provide an overview on how well the Council In 2018, this target was revised with a more more diverse. We are a welcoming city, and is achieving its ambition by assessing the challenging ambition to becoming zero- residents have a proud track record of positive progress made in delivering a diverse supply carbon by 2038. Other environmental factors integration and respecting one another’s of high-quality housing in clean, safe, also remain a priority for the city. These cultures, faiths and ways of life. attractive and cohesive neighbourhoods include developing our green infrastructure, repurposing our contaminated land (a by- This helps to secure Manchester’s position as → Look at the work we are doing to improve product of our industrial heritage), improving a liveable city, providing a richness of cultural, air quality in the city air quality, increasing recycling and reducing leisure and sports facilities, and offering many → Look at how we are protecting the city for the amount of waste that goes to landfill, opportunities for people to engage with their future generations through encouraging making sure our streets are clean and litter- communities and neighbourhoods through the growth of a low-carbon culture, and free, and reducing the amount of fly-tipping. volunteering. We’re providing better-quality protecting our communities from a parks and green spaces and are investing in changing climate A liveable city is more than this. We are also libraries, culture, sport and events for residents’ focused on all the facilities we provide to create benefit, and to increase the city’s international → Look at the broad range of facilities we a city and neighbourhoods where people want profile and attractiveness. have available across our libraries, culture, to live. We are addressing issues around our sporting, leisure and events offer housing by developing a diverse supply of good- We want Manchester people to be proud of their → Reflect on how residents are becoming quality housing available to rent and buy that institutions, their neighbourhood, and their more actively involved in the future of our is well-designed, energy-efficient, sustainable city, which will reflect and celebrate diversity. city through our volunteering programmes. and affordable to Manchester’s diverse residents. By meeting this aim we will encourage more This chapter outlines how progress is being working people to stay and live in Manchester, made to achieve these aims, the strategies contributing to the city’s success. being used to structure the work, the Manchester’s State of the City Report 2019 130 A liveable and low-carbon city partnership approaches we’re adopting, and Analysis of progress As Figure 5.1 shows, the scale and volume of the specific indicators that demonstrate where development in the city centre is increasing. A diverse supply of good-quality progress is being made. This is detailed in the This is illustrated by the fact that in the period housing affordable to everyone following six subsections: from 2014/15, Manchester has built over 10,000 Manchester is leading the national new homes, including 2,897 in 2018/19 (made → A diverse supply of good-quality housing response to the shortage of homes up of 1,524 in the city centre and 1,373 across affordable to everyone across the United Kingdom the rest of the city) – up from 2,865 in 2017/18. The Residential Growth Strategy (2015–2025) → Recycling more of our waste, and clean, Notable examples of recently completed city sets out the city’s approach to providing the litter-free neighbourhoods centre apartment blocks include 350 homes right housing mix for a growing and increasingly at Deansgate Square (West Tower) and 232 → Safe and cohesive neighbourhoods diverse population. Fundamental to this are homes at The Trilogy (Ellesmere Street). This opportunities for home ownership at all price → Improving the quality of parks, green represents a massive step change from the points – including affordable homes for first- spaces, rivers and canals period 2010/11–2016/17, when delivery rarely time buyers and movers, and more three and exceeded 1,000–1,500 new homes per year, → Encouraging a low-carbon culture four-bed homes for growing families. Against consisting of predominantly low-density this backdrop and in light of favourable market → Vibrant neighbourhoods: culture, libraries, traditional-style houses outside the city centre. conditions, the Residential Growth Strategy leisure, sport and volunteering. delivery target is now set at 32,000 new homes between 2015 and 2025 – up from the original 25,000 new homes target set in 2015. This year in Manchester, there were more cranes across the skyline than ever recorded, including the previous pre-recession construction peak in August 2005. There are currently over 11,000 new homes under construction in Manchester, including some 9,000 in the city centre, more than in any other Core City1 or individual London borough. These homes are due to be 1 Core Cities include: Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, completed over the next two to three years. Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield, Glasgow and Cardiff Manchester’s State of the City Report 2019 131 A liveable and low-carbon city Figure 5.1: The significant change in delivery was Housing completions 2007/08–2018/19 triggered in no small part by the £300million Greater Manchester Housing Investment , City centre Rest of city Fund and the essential development finance this deal delivered. The Fund continues to , play a vital role in supporting the ongoing development of new homes for city centre residents. Further schemes are expected , to come forward with the benefit of this investment in the next 12–18 months, including Manchester New Square (351 new , homes), Affinity Living at Circle Square (683 new homes), and Deansgate Square (1,508 new homes). , Established partnerships are progressing, including the Manchester Life Development Housing completions Company (a partnership between Manchester , City Council and Abu Dhabi United Group). This completed approximately 500 new homes in 2018/19, including Murrays Mill, , 124 homes targeted exclusively at owner- occupiers, and Smiths Yard, a 199-home Build to Rent scheme. An expanding pipeline of new Build to Rent schemes, typically in single ownership with / / / / / / / / / / / / the same lettings and management company, baseline is providing residents with a growing choice Financial year of rental options, especially in the city centre. Source: Manchester City Council tax records (2007/08–2013/14), Manchester City Council Expected Completions List (2014/15–2018/19) There were some 3,000 operational Build to Manchester’s State of the City Report 2019 132 A liveable and low-carbon city Rent properties across the city centre at the In light of these figures, it is important to → £209,418 in the city centre (all properties) end of 2018/19, and this figure is expected to note that averages mask variations in rents → £194,053 elsewhere in the city (all properties). double by the end of 2019/20. This will result at the local level, including within certain in a more professionalised lettings market, neighbourhoods in the city centre. For Average prices in certain areas can be inflated with higher management standards and an example, rents in Hulme Park/Birley Fields and by a small number of high-value new-build enhanced amenity offer, such as a cinema, Oxford Road South are well below the average sales in certain developments. For example, on-site gyms etc. (£766 and £820 respectively), providing a more the effect of the new-build premium at affordable entry-level housing choice for Eclipse Cavendish Road Didsbury (38 sales Coupled with the for-sale market, all this is residents looking at living in the city centre. over £400,000) or the Former St George’s helping to significantly increase the scale of Similarly, across north and east Manchester Church in Hulme (15 sales over £300,000) has new homes delivery across Manchester. there are large numbers of properties with led to inflate the averages well above the price Current forecasts suggest that in 2019/20, rents below £600 per calendar month. of resale homes in the same neighbourhood. Manchester may well exceed the 2007/08 Indeed, when looking at ward level, average peak of 5,412 homes. An attractive market for home ownership prices in the majority of wards are below the and first-time buyers in Manchester citywide average (see Figure 5.2). Increased supply is the fundamental response There is continued evidence of a strong sales to both house price and rental affordability market in the city, with 8,296 sales in 2018/19. Despite the strength of the pipeline, evidence Demand can be attributed to a combination of from a number of key housing market indicators new supply, increasing options for prospective suggests the city remains undersupplied. buyers, and the growing owner-occupation The proportion of empty properties remains market – particularly first-time buyers, many at record lows – 0.6% in the city centre and of whom have benefited from changes to 0.55% elsewhere in Manchester. Stamp Duty Land Tax, following the lifting of the levy on transactions below £300,000.