Who is really benefiting from the Manchester city centre housing boom?
Neil McInroy, CLES CEO, was recently asked by Manchester Evening News to add his voice to the debate around housing in Manchester, for an article exploring exactly who is benefiting from the housing boom in the city centre.
Neil McInroy commented:
“There is a problem, because the return on the city centre’s housing investment is extracted by investors – and more often, not local investors. This is not an inclusive model and it’s doing nothing to solve our housing problem. There is much we could do about it, though. For a start, we could ensure the criteria used when we decide what housing to invest in includes wider social value and need, rather than just financial return.”
“We should be pushing government to lift its borrowing cap so that Greater Manchester can build council housing. We could force all developments to provide contributions towards affordable housing. And we could look to coerce developers – using Greater Manchester’s housing investment fund – to build outside the city centre.”
