Wythenshawe brownfield site to be the site of 40 new social homes
Some 40 new social homes will be created in Wythenshawe under plans to grant a development lease on a Council-owned site to Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG).
The scheme will take place in on a disused brownfield site in Greenwood Road and Gladeside Road. WCHG have been selected as the provider that will build 40 apartments, which it will rent out and manage.
The Council’s Executive is being asked to approve the 990-year lease, which will specify that the properties must be socially rented, when it meets on Friday 22 July.
Although the Council could get a somewhat higher price for the land if it sold on it the open market, the proposed sale to WCHG – valued at £310,000 – will support the Council’s drive to create more social and affordable homes.
The Council’s new Manchester Housing Strategy, which it’s Executive is being asked to formally adopt at the same meeting, aims to create 10,000 new social and affordable homes over the next 10 years. And by 2032, at least 80% of new homes built under this strategy aim to be on brownfield sites with close links to public transport.
Councillor Gavin White, Executive Member for Housing and Development said: “By developing this land we are putting into action the Council’s ambition to create much-needed new social housing for our residents.
“The city’s population is expected to keep growing over the next decade which is why it is vital that we invest now in affordable homes. It is a positive step that the Council is able to take unused brownfield land such as this, and put it to effective use.”
Andrea Lowman, Executive Director of Development at WCHG said: “We’re delighted to be working with Manchester City Council in bringing much needed social rented homes to the city. With demand for this type of housing far outpacing supply, partnership working really helps deliver local homes for those who need them most.
“The site, on Greenwood Road in Wythenshawe, has become something of an eyesore since the Greenwood pub was demolished, so we’re pleased that this plan will see land recycled and turned into a genuine asset for our community.
“Our plans for the apartments will see a range of carbon efficient technologies built into the design, which will contribute to the carbon zero aspirations of both WCHG and Manchester City Council.”
