Hulme Greens: housing

Showing posts with label housing. Show all posts

Thursday, 8 September 2016

In the Running

"Devolution"[1] for Greater Manchester has many things wrong with it. There is

a lack of transparency
no democratic mandate from the people
an almost sole focus on 'growth'
a lack of practical focus on social issues
a lack of focus on the climate change and environmental issues

Green Candidates

So why run to be the Green candidate for Mayor?

Because its an opportunity to put all of these issues on the agenda for Greater Manchester.

The role of the Mayor should be a campaigning one for the people.

In addition, 35% of constituencies in Greater Manchester are amongst the most deprived in the North West. [2] (Deprived areas have strong indicators of poverty, poor health, unemployment, poor or a lack of housing. [3] [4])

Manchester itself is stark in its levels of inequality. Whilst there is great wealth [5], its high levels of homelessness [6] is plain to see and it has some of the worst health in the country [7].

Although the Labour candidate for mayor [8] has a respectable record as an MP, in Manchester he is the 'status quo' candidate. That is not good enough.

We should be doing something different.

BRT Rally

On housing

Instead of accepting £300 million to build private accommodation [9] is the end of the story, why don't we ask government for an additional £300 million to stimulate social housing construction all over Greater Manchester?

It would

provide jobs and training
provide lower cost housing for those in need
support social landlords
enable young people to get on the property ladder
give a boost to ALL areas of region not just Manchester and Salford.

On health

The situation is bordering on disastrous. To deal with some of the worst health in the country

we should renegotiate the deal with government to get back the estimated £2 billion budget shortfall [10]
fight to be given a free hand to organise its health systems instead of implementing government plans [11] . It should be devolution not delegation.
support the growth of the voluntary sector to provide additional support for health and social services
'hand back' health devolution if the additional help requested is not forthcoming

Whilst health doesn't come directly under the Mayors remit, it such a huge issue, it MUST be on the Mayor's agenda.

On the economy

Instead of just competing for 'cherry on the top' events like Expo2025 [12], the region should also be fighting to bring in Green industry, providing long-term work as part of a new Green Deal [13].

Greater Manchester is home of the industrial revolution, and as such is also a parent to the beginnings of climate change [14]. As a region we have a responsibility to effectively fight climate change, to fight for a Greater Greener Manchester.

That is what I think.

So as a Greater Manchester Green Party member, I'm asking for your vote.

If you don’t already have a link to vote contact the Elections Officer. [15].

Thanks.

Notes

Read Full Article >>

Monday, 25 April 2016

Comment: Race to the Top? Not In Manchester

April sees Bury City Council elect its new council leader Rishi Shori. He is the first Black Minority Ethnic (BME) leader [1] in the history of Greater Manchester.

With this in mind, it’s worth looking at the current composition of Manchester City Council.

Manchester City Council has 96 councillors [2]. All 96 are currently members of the Labour Party [3]. Labour has historically enjoyed solid support from the ethnic minority population of the city.

Lets look at more numbers.

The population of Manchester is approximately 500000 [4]
The ethnic minority population is roughly 30 percent of this [5]
Of the councils 96 representatives, 16 are from non-European ethnic minorities. Its about 17% of council body. [6]
Of these 15 are of ‘Asian descent’ and there is a token African Caribbean member

The Manchester City Council decision making body is the Executive Committee.

It has 9 members and of these, all are English (White) European [7]. (Interestingly enough the half of the Executive Committee 'assistants' are councillors of Asian decent.)

Whilst this is not necessary an issue, its notable that there is little discussion of how the large changes that are occurring through devolution will affect the ethnic minority population.

Take the £300 million housing fund [8]. At the moment its almost exclusively being used to support commercial property development. Given that BME population in the city are likely to be in lower socioeconomic brackets it means they are less likely to benefit from the fund.

Health devolution [9] was discussed at a public networking meeting recently, a health strategy officer presented. When pressed, the officer admitted that if the devolution plans didn’t work, that BME communities are more likely to bear to bear the brunt of any negative effects as they are already at a disadvantage in the health system. It is projected that the devolution health budget may have as much as £2 billion pounds deficit [10].

As for Greater Manchester Police and policing, ethnic minorities are more than twice as likely to be stopped and searched than the majority population [11]. Whilst there are actions that can be done to address this locally, very little effective action seems to be forthcoming the police or its Crime Commissioner.

These serious issues barely raise a ripple because

1) There is a lack of diversity on the Council. There are more people called Murphy on Manchester City Council's select Executive Committee than there are African Caribbeans on the whole council.

2) What representation there is - is whipped into obeying the local Labour party line.

Its worth noting that no councillors voted against the budget cuts this year and you will be hard pressed to find one councillor to have votes against any cuts within the past five years. [12]

Representation and diversity.

Find a Green local council candidate.

Vote for them.

Notes

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Monday, 14 March 2016

Devolution needs to be stopped and rethought

Let me just say it. Its time to stop the Greater Manchester Devolution.

Stop it, rethink it.

There seems to be so much wrong with this process that, not only is there an independent campaign calling for a referendum [1] but even Greater Manchester’s local newspapers, including the Manchester Evening News, have bandied together to form a ‘Fair Devolution’ campaign [2] to get a better deal.

So what are some of the things wrong?

Housing. The £300 million pound fund [3] has mainly gone to private developers despite there being over 80,000 people on Greater Manchester housing waiting lists [4] and a sharp rise in homelessness. As it is currently structured it is very difficult for social landlords to access this fund to build badly needed social housing. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Health. The health budget (offered at £6 billion) [5] has been devolved and is thought to be between £1 to 2 billion less than it needs to run properly [6]. This will cause even further strain on the regional NHS. It remains to be seen if this regional approach is a threat to how the NHS operates as a whole. [7]

Democracy. The majority of people in Greater Manchester know very little about this devolution process at the moment. The last time the issue of an elected mayor came up it was rejected by Manchester [8]. Having the role now imposed as part of the devolution deal, the interim Mayor was chosen with no opportunity for public discussion or public hustings [9]. The forthcoming full Mayoral elections will require a substantial amount of money to run [10]. This greatly narrows the field of potential candidates.

As it stands, devolution doesn’t address the towns ‘left behind’ in Greater Manchester [11], the cuts to the police [12] or local Councils [13]. And it should do all of these things as well as being good for business [14].

Crucially, in addition, this devolution, ignores the potential of the process to reignite the Climate Change and Poverty agendas that are critical to the future for all of us.

Devolution as policy and principle is a good thing. When its works properly, it allows people to have a greater say in democracy, it allows greater responsiveness to the needs of those people. But that is not what is happening in Greater Manchester.

In Greater Manchester, a historic opportunity is becoming a badly thought through mess. Innovation is no guarantee of progress.

The Green Party in Manchester, as the second largest party in the city by vote, want a proper say for the people of this region.

Its not too late to stop this version of devolution. And rethink it.

Notes

Read Full Article >>

Sunday, 15 November 2015

Comment: Where are Manchester Council’s emergency homeless shelters?

There has been much criticism of Manchester City Council and its approach to homelessness over the past few months.

This has especially been the case with its suppfor evicting the homeless from various buildings and shelters from around the city centre. The most notorious example of this was supporting Manchester Metropolitan University’s double eviction of the Ark [1].

A pivotal action in altering the council’s position came when homelessness activists briefly occupied an empty office block on Charlotte Street in city centre. They aimed to make it a community hub for the homeless from which they could get shelter food and advice [2]. Although swiftly evicted, almost immediately afterwards, Manchester United football legends Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs generously offered shelter in their empty ‘Stock Exchange’ building [3].

In an about face, the Council then declared it too would make buildings available [4].

That was two weeks ago.

The site of the Ark on Oxford Road is currently empty and fenced off by MMU. There is no sign of the activity MMU evicted the Ark for.

Its been a week of cold, wet, windy weather. Under the fly-over on Oxford Road on both sides, there are homeless again.

When asked why they were there, why didn’t they go to the ‘Stock Exchange’, they said that they did but it was full.

When they were asked about the Council’s empty buildings for the homeless, they knew nothing about them. At all.

When it explained what was offered in the press the response was [to paraphrase and replace words] – ‘Goodness me, they should hurry up, this is no flowery joke being out here’.

Since then, as reported by the local press, the camp near Piccadilly train station has grown to about 30 people [5].

Its been a very bad week weather-wise. When are these buildings going to open?

What are the Council waiting for?

Christmas?

Notes

1. http://www.salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=2967

2. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/squatters-bid-set-up-homeless-10278055

3. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/gary-neville-tells-homeless-protest-10283700

4. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/town-hall-follow-gary-neville-10352188

5. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/dozens-rough-sleepers-set-up-10433163

Read Full Article >>

Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Council Leader should learn some Mancunian generosity

The comments on the Leader’s Blog [1] by Richard Leese on begging and homelessness are reprehensible. It is classic demonization of some of Manchesters’ most vulnerable.

The piece looks to draw distinctions between beggars and the homeless while describing them in almost the same terms. For beggars "the most likely beneficiaries are the nearest off-licence, drug dealer" but the homeless "are people with chaotic, dysfunctional lifestyles often with drink, drug, and mental health problems".

The Leader talks about 80% of beggars not being homeless. What does that mean? There is a noticeable increase in begging AND the homeless on the streets over the few years. We know that the "Lack of affordable housing, welfare cuts, and cuts to support services" has led to an increase in homelessness, why wouldn't it lead to an increase in begging? Foodbanks [2] and soup kitchens can't catch everyone.

The claim that beggars are commuting from London for the notable Mancunian generosity is ridiculous. When is the evidence for this? And are beggars also commuting from Liverpool, Birmingham and other large cities?

As for the generosity of Mancunians, this does not extend to the Council. This spring it cut funding to homelessness support. [3]

Since then, however, the Council has spent over £100,000 prosecuting the homeless in the city centre while at the same time promoting the huge amount of luxury flats planned for the city centre partly funded by £300 million of government funds. [4]

What use are the Council Leader's comments except to turn the public against the visible homeless on the streets. It casts doubt on any initiative announced by the Richard Leese will be anything more than a token enterprise, that it won’t approach the scale of action needed to properly address the homelessness crisis. Next thing you know, he’ll be asking people not to give to the homeless.

Manchester’s generosity is better than the comments of the Council Leader. He should do a better job of representing it. He should learn from it.

In the meantime its to be expected that the homeless themselves will do the best they can to look after themselves on the streets of Manchester.

1. http://www.manchester.gov.uk/blog/leadersblog/post/743/homelessness-and-street-begging/comment

2. http://www.mancunianmatters.co.uk/content/140773910-benefit-cuts-will-force-more-manchester-families-rely-food-banks-warns-study

3. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/number-people-sleeping-rough-greater-8745312

4. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/300m-housing-fund-designed-unlock-9570783

Read Full Article >>

Tuesday, 8 September 2015

A thought on the Labour Party ahead of the announcement of their new leader.

The 18th of August marked the anniversary of the Battle of Peterloo, when 60,000 people protested in Manchester in support for the vote and political reform. The struggle for a democracy which is truly representative of the people continues today. In Manchester, the latest threat to democracy is the Government’s devolution deal. Devolution in general something we support. We believe important decisions about local areas should be taken by those closest to those areas. However, the devolution deal does not offer more accountability to the people but less. For example Greater Manchester is currently represented by an unelected Mayor, former Labour MP Tony Lloyd, and this will be the case until 2017.

There seems to be an ongoing argument within the Labour Party over whether the leadership contest will cause or is causing a split. It is hard to see what the debate is about. It seems apparent that there is a split. Greens in Manchester were aware of a split long before the leadership campaign began. The gaps were apparent in the differences in views between Manchester City Council and local MPs over the devolution deal for Greater Manchester. While the Council was and is very happy to sign a deal with George Osborne, local MPs were and are much more skeptical about the long-term consequences of the deal.

If Jeremy Corbyn is elected it does appear that the gap between him and Sir Richard Leese (the leader of Manchester Council) will be a large one. For a start Mr Leese has given his backing to Yvette Cooper. The differences are the greatest when it comes to housing and tackling poverty. While Mr Corbyn agrees with the Green Party and argues for the building of new social housing, the Council prioritizes the building of private homes. It has recently unveiled plans for new projects across the City Centre. Of the thousands of new flats and houses, none of them are set to be social housing; and none of them are even to be set as ‘affordable’. This is despite the fact that there are currently 20,000 people on the social housing waiting list in Manchester. The Council sees rising rents as a positive economic indicator and recently spent over £100,000 on evicting and taking legal action against homeless protesters in the City Centre. We believe that this approach from the Council has encouraged social housing conglomerate One Manchester to come up with plans for Hulme which don’t include any social housing.

We look forward to working with the supporters of Mr Corbyn in developing and implementing plans to create more social housing and combating inequality across Manchester.

Read Full Article >>

Friday, 21 August 2015

What's the future for Cornbrook and Pomona Island?

The Canal at Cornbrook

The last entry talked about the Council’s proposed development of Great Jackson Street. This article is about the Council’s plans for Cornbrook and Pomona. The Council plans to build a large hotel, a ‘commercial business hub’ and a number of flats. In addition, it is working with Trafford Council to build a large number of flats on Pomona Island in the future.

As with the Great Jackson Street plan, the Council has no desire to build any affordable homes or social housing on the site. The promise of some new commercial space at least shows that the Council does know that people need to have somewhere to work as well as just live. However, the Council does not look set to overturn its existing policies of attempting to attract in new employers rather than supporting local businesses to grow. We want to see some of the commercial space be set aside for either small businesses, or for an office to support small businesses and local charities. We also want to the plans to have more imagination when it comes to retaining the current environment of Pomona Island.

We also want to see a plan which takes into consideration the environment. Pomona is currently an Oasis of green at the edge of the City Centre. The site was home to a pleasure garden in the 19^th century and it would be good to see Pomona continue to have green space rather than seeing it become overdeveloped like the rest of the former docks.

The most troublesome thing about this proposal is that it has been designed without consulting the public. It has been dreamt up by the Tory heads of Trafford Council and the Labour heads of Manchester Council behind closed doors. Even Hulme Councillors were not consulted about the plans. Cllr Lee-Ann Igbon was concerned that she had not been consulted about the plans before they were released.

The Council leader Mr Richard Leese said that as only a small amount of the plan was actually in Hulme he didn’t think it was much of an issue. That statement appears to be disingenuous as Mr Leese must have surely read the report which has plans to build hundreds of flats and directly states that existing services such as schools, dentists and doctors’ surgeries would be used by the new residents.

The impact of all these new homes and other developments on transport is also a major concern. There is no plan to deal with the increase in traffic created by these plans. Chester Road, Bridgewater Way A57 are already extremely busy at peak times and a heavily built development on this site will greatly add to this problem. While there is an existing tram stop it is not plausible that this will cater for all the transport needs of the new homes and other planned buildings.

Change is always going to occur and the Hulme Greens are not against that. But we believe that changes to the city should be made with the people, not made behind closed doors with the leaders of other Councils. In addition we will be arguing for new developments to provide affordable homes, social housing with controlled rents, space for small businesses, green spaces, and amenities for the community and be designed to tackle climate change.

Read Full Article >>

Sunday, 16 August 2015

Housing Association ‘No DSS’ housing proposal despite waiting list crisis.

Social landlord OneManchester’s [1] controversial plans to build new housing in Hulme reveal that none of the 170 properties will be available as social homes.

The scheme called ‘Hulme Living’[2], which OneManchester hopes to begin in early 2016, will be across 2 sites in Hulme, one approximately 100 property build on Leaf Street the other Chorlton Road.

Dave Power, chief executive of OneManchester justifies the proposal, saying “…Greater Manchester desperately needs to be building at least 10,000 new homes per year in order to play its part in tackling the national housing crisis” [3].

Deyika Nzeribe, Manchester Green Party and resident of Hulme said “OneManchester is supposed to be a social landlord. Where are the social homes in this plan? Dave Power is right in saying that there is a housing crisis in Manchester but that crisis is that there are 20,000 people on the council waiting list[4], the worse in the North West of England. If not organisations like OneManchester, who is going to build the social housing we desperately need?

“If all the accommodation in these plans are for rent, why not have a mix, have 40% of the tenants in there from the housing list? THAT would be a small step but it will be in the right direction.”

Manchester Green Party Chair Steffeny McGiffen commented “With 20,000 people on the housing waiting list evidence of the lack of accommodation for people in need can be seen every day on the streets of Manchester. Those charged with the welfare of the city are failing to tackle the issue and arguably, wilfully ignoring it."

Ends

Notes

1. One Manchester - http://www.onemanchester.co.uk/

2. Hulme Living - http://hulmeliving.co.uk/

3. 170 new homes expected to be built in Hulme - http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/170-new-homes-expected-built-9780001

4. Households on local authorities' housing waiting lists - http://data.gov.uk/dataset/households_on_local_authorities_housing_waiting_lists_-_excluding_households_waiting_for_transfers

Read Full Article >>

Tuesday, 4 August 2015

What's on the horizon for Hulme?

Hulme has changed in the past and will change again. Hulme in the 1870s was home to 75,000 people and was predominately made up of terraced housing. Then the 1960s and 1970s saw the building of big blocks of flats like the Crescents. Now the large blocks have gone and where they once stood we have Hulme Park and private houses. Recently Hulme has seen Manchester Metropolitan University building on Birley Fields.

Hulme and the surrounding area is about to change again. The Council has drawn up plans to drastically change many areas in and around Hulme. This blog entry is the first in a series which will be seeking to inform people about the changes planned for the area and to spark debate over whether these plans are what the people of Hulme want.

This article focuses on the Council’s strategy to develop the area around Great Jackson Street, which is just across from Hulme Park. The plans include proposals for a 58 storey tower and five other towers over 20 storeys high. While there are also some houses, the Council have ruled out providing any social housing or affordable housing. We believe that if the demand to build is so great for developers then surely the Council can push them to build some social housing or affordable housing. The Council claims that the site will have a mix of different types of properties but if the plans exclude affordable and social housing this mix seems to be pretty shallow.

There is also little provision for new shops or any other amenities. Without new plans these new properties will put a strain on doctors’ surgeries, dentists and schools in the area. In fact the Council has specifically mentioned that residents would be using existing services in Hulme. The people of Hulme need more jobs but this plan does not offer them. The building work would be covered by the same work schemes that the MMU Birley Fields campus was and the building work there created only a handful of jobs for local residents.

The plans have also not considered how these buildings will look to the people of Hulme. The plan makes an effort to show how the buildings will look from different positions around the city centre, but when it comes to Hulme there has been no consideration. The proposals also have little provision for public space.

Manchester does need new homes and Hulme Greens are not opposed to building in general. However, we believe that all changes to Hulme should have the clear backing of residents. The Council thinks that putting a consultation form on its website is sufficient and that this is reaching out to the public. We disagree and believe that the Council should consult more with the public before endorsing plans to radically change an area. It’s not just the public who aren’t properly consulted about new plans in the area. At a meeting on the 29th of July, Labour Hulme Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon complained that she had not been consulted about plans proposed for Cornbrook. This is despite the fact that another Labour Councillor for Hulme, Nigel Murphy is part of the Council executive which runs the Council.

The plans are just that at the moment and can be changed. At this stage it is important to make your views heard whether they be positive or negative. The Council may not be interested in hearing your views but we are, so get in touch and tell us what you think.

Read Full Article >>

Saturday, 16 July 2011

The Manchester Housing Crisis

There is a real crisis developing in Manchester, one that has been growing for some years and which shows no signs of resolution: decent housing for its citizens.

(Image: David Oates)

The facts

The number of households in Manchester has increased by 37,549 in the last ten years whilst there have been 24,000 new homes built in the same period, mostly apartments. In 2010, there were 16,000 households on Manchester Council’s housing register – 7,000 more than in 2001. These are Manchester Council’s statistics.

However, according to recent official government statistics, the number of households on the waiting list was actually 22,448, a much larger number amounting to no less than 11.1% of total households in the city.

Whatever number ones takes, it is clear that in the last decade there has been a steep rise in housing need in Manchester. Nor is this pressure likely to diminish. The Council estimates that there will be another 56,000 households in Manchester in twenty years times. This is the crisis.

The scandal

At the moment, the Council is building just 200 new council homes in Charlestown, Blackley and West Gorton whilst in the last two years only 255 empty houses have been brought back into use. Meanwhile, in December 2009, there were 13,760 empty homes across all tenures in Manchester, 8040 of these had been empty for more than 6 months.

The expectation is that this number will increase given the number of new private blocks completed but unsold. In addition, Manchester is littered with uncompleted apartment blocks, effectively abandoned by their developers in the wake of the banking crisis and consequent recession. As the Council itself states they have “a number of tools and legal powers to tackle empty homes” but they fail to use them. As noted above, 255 empty houses have been brought back into use in two years. So, that will clear the current waiting list by 2187 at present rates.

It is clear that the rapid increase in housing waiting lists in Manchester coincides with a housing price boom which has led to many households desperate for decent homes being simply priced out of the market. The Council still believes that “home ownership is achievable for households on an average city income” whilst at the same time knowing that “the average wage of city residents in 2009 was £371pw” that is below £20,000 per annum.

According to the Index of Multiple Deprivation, a national statistic which is an accepted measure for household deprivation, 228,235 of Manchester residents live in the worst 10% most deprived neighbourhoods nationally – 51,155 within worst 1%. The Index suggests that some 62% of our households live in the worst 10% in terms of deprivation.

Hulme falls comfortably inside the list of the 1% most deprived wards in the country. To suggest that the ‘average’ Hulme household can afford to buy a home at current prices is simply offensive.

Manchester City Council Responses

So what does Manchester City Council suggest should be done? Their full list of solutions

Using our land and assets to work with private sector and institutional investors to meet demand for new homes
Supporting developers to overcome barriers to building new homes
Looking for solutions that do not depend on public subsidy
Tackling the unsustainable use of energy in our housing
Finding new solutions for those who wish to become home owners

(Source: Building Manchester's neighbourhoods: Housing strategy 2011 to 2021)

It would be difficult to devise a weaker response to the crisis.

Manchester Council has become reliant on the private sector for answering Manchester’s housing problems. No one doubts that there have been difficulties in financing social housing development, but Manchester’s Labour council has been extreme in its response.

Once, the Labour-led Council was a beacon for providing decent social housing but in recent years it has abandoned this, trying to outsource its housing department and wherever possible simply ditch its social housing responsibilities.

The Green View

The Hulme Green Party believes in a Green New Deal for social housing. It believes that building new houses would not only provide decent homes for Hulme families but would also provide work for unemployed construction workers and help lift the region out of recession.

It believes that the existence of empty homes alongside tens of thousands of families on a housing waiting list is immoral particularly when the Council possess the legal power to take over empty property vacant for a long time.

It believes that the Council should takeover and complete abandoned apartment blocks. When quizzed about their failure to do this, one councillor replied that such apartments did not fit the housing needs of most people on the waiting list. It would be interesting to see just how many of these applicants would turn down a two-bedroom apartment in a new block as ‘unsuitable’.

We challenge our Labour councillors to come up with proposals for solving Hulme’s housing crisis with similar positive proposals.

Or would they respond with the vague clichés which characterise Labour’s housing ‘policy’ for Manchester.

Read Full Article >>

Hulme Greens

Thursday, 8 September 2016

In the Running

Monday, 25 April 2016

Comment: Race to the Top? Not In Manchester

Monday, 14 March 2016

Devolution needs to be stopped and rethought

Sunday, 15 November 2015

Comment: Where are Manchester Council’s emergency homeless shelters?

Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Council Leader should learn some Mancunian generosity

Tuesday, 8 September 2015

A thought on the Labour Party ahead of the announcement of their new leader.

Friday, 21 August 2015

What's the future for Cornbrook and Pomona Island?

Sunday, 16 August 2015

Housing Association ‘No DSS’ housing proposal despite waiting list crisis.

Tuesday, 4 August 2015

What's on the horizon for Hulme?

Saturday, 16 July 2011

The Manchester Housing Crisis

Hulme Ward reports on FixMyStreet.COM

Manchester City Council webcasts