Dear Nick Mattingly ... I think when people say they are being forced out, they dont mean ' from the city centre' .. they mean from the nearby postcodes they have spent years/lives living in..the postcodes that have always had housing, and affordable housing.. eg, whalley range, moss side, hulme, eccles as in the documentary - the rent prices are rising in all of those areas and its becoming impossible..and with the social housing list being also impossible( as evidenced in the documentary ) .. for instance I was given a realistic figure of ' probably an 8 - 10 year wait ' by someone at the Manchester Move offices, and i am a single parent on a low income..one child, no disabilities.. but thats not going to get me on the list as Im not desperate ' enough' . Landlords are wanting to put rents UP to ' market value' and market value is now edging towards the sort of prices Londoners would be happy to pay, as they are the people moving here..to work at the BBC for instance , or because they can get 'much more' for their money. So the areas Ive been looking at are WAY out, and I would literally have to start a new life, new job.. but I cant because my daughter is at school here so I need to hang on as long as i can paying most of my wages on rent. Thats what they mean by ' being forced out' . And planning is geared towards money...so they built a tram stop to the Trafford Centre ( which is now closing ironically ) but they didnt build a tram line to Gorton , which REALLY needs one...the nearest tram being 25 minutes walk away.. They are not thinking about the run down and forgotten areas - they build houses next to refuse plants ( Hyde Road ) and expect people to buy those on a new owner scheme.. where the air stinks of rubbish all day.. and theres so much pollution from cars on the Hyde Road and a school right next to that. Town planning here is a nightmare and you cant even SEE any of the historic buildings anymore as you come in . The old spires and history is being engulfed by glass towers with no-one in them.
I would add that the council and developers such as C&C and Urban Splash regard artists as part of that 'regeneration' process - the soft front-end of gentrification. So, by supporting artists to move out to Gorton (Rogue / C&C) or Salford (Paradise Works / US) they pave the way for the next stage of development. They certainly know the 'value' of artists.
I also strongly agree that more independent journalism is needed on this issue. As evidenced by the link above, the MEN often functions as a press release portal for the developers - who literally write the articles - there is rarely any critical evalulation. They get to control the narrative - avoiding tougher questions around affordable housing etc. Meanwhile, key voices are missing from the discussion, such as the many south-asian knitwear workers that were displaced from CRUSADER in 2017 - sadly on 2 of the 7 factories have survived. So when developers talk about building a 'community', it is a very narrow definition they have in mind.
Hi. I am delighted to find The Mill, and, then, the first article I read is on the housing/homelessness issue. It is central to the developing character of Manchester. One of my concerns is that the new, ugly flats being built in Salford demand expensive rents, which cannot be met. This, in turn, might mean that they will remain vacant and, eventually, will turn into slums. We know the buildings are of poor quality ( check it our for yourself by walking into a foyer and looking behind the 'gloss' at the poor workmanship).
As well, unlike in other vertical accomodation in cities around the world, there appears to be no community services -- a Tesco Express does not count.
Having lived in Fallowfield for over thirty years, I have watched the growth and change of our city centre with growing unease.
I see a real issue where these developments are not only pushing out local people without the income to afford the high rents but they are actively being marketed to 'young' professional and student sharers so older generations are also either being forced out or having to pay a much higher cost of living to live in the area they want to live in. I've yet to see a rental listing that says 'would suit mature professionals' because most older people are at a stage in their life where they don't want to flat share, this means they are less likely to be able to afford the high rents when a tenants monthly earnings have to be 3x the rental cost (with many of the new or higher standard apartments going at an average of £1000 - £1300, thats an annual income of £36,000 - £46,800 with the average Manchester salary being £28,392 according to the ONS as of April 19). Prices are therefore now at a level where the only way agents can let them is by targeting groups of young sharers and as those sharers continue to pay the high rents, the overseas landlords expect higher and higher yields from their investment so the rents go up.
Interesting article. The problem is one of balancing the underlying character of the area, moving with the times and keeping things real. Is a city centre full of high earning, not necessarily local people what's wanted? An inevitable slide towards pricing 'everyday' people out has a negative impact. Is this going to be a transient home? Where are all the schools? I have lived in the Manchester area for 34 years and I am torn between conflicting views of what I would like to see for this amazing city.
This programme has inspired me to donate to Shelter. It's not right what is happening in Manchester and I'm staggered at the complicity of the city council and interested in learning more and helping to shine a light on the situation. I am not a resident of Manchester but I have been in the past and it's alarming to see it's character changing so fast. I don't see anything good in celebrating aspirational renting which offers no security and is only appealing to the young.
This was such an interesting programme, and a great article. As a renter in Salford I’ve found it really hard to find anything for a reasonable price. We lived for a year in a £650pcm flat until rats got in. It seems to go from reasonably priced places that are extremely poor quality to nice flats that are £1000+pcm. There is no in between. To be anywhere near workplaces or the centre of town we have to pay so much.
Still I feel so lucky not to be in the position of the poor woman (and countless others) going through the housing association. I felt for her and her family so much.
Dear Nick Mattingly ... I think when people say they are being forced out, they dont mean ' from the city centre' .. they mean from the nearby postcodes they have spent years/lives living in..the postcodes that have always had housing, and affordable housing.. eg, whalley range, moss side, hulme, eccles as in the documentary - the rent prices are rising in all of those areas and its becoming impossible..and with the social housing list being also impossible( as evidenced in the documentary ) .. for instance I was given a realistic figure of ' probably an 8 - 10 year wait ' by someone at the Manchester Move offices, and i am a single parent on a low income..one child, no disabilities.. but thats not going to get me on the list as Im not desperate ' enough' . Landlords are wanting to put rents UP to ' market value' and market value is now edging towards the sort of prices Londoners would be happy to pay, as they are the people moving here..to work at the BBC for instance , or because they can get 'much more' for their money. So the areas Ive been looking at are WAY out, and I would literally have to start a new life, new job.. but I cant because my daughter is at school here so I need to hang on as long as i can paying most of my wages on rent. Thats what they mean by ' being forced out' . And planning is geared towards money...so they built a tram stop to the Trafford Centre ( which is now closing ironically ) but they didnt build a tram line to Gorton , which REALLY needs one...the nearest tram being 25 minutes walk away.. They are not thinking about the run down and forgotten areas - they build houses next to refuse plants ( Hyde Road ) and expect people to buy those on a new owner scheme.. where the air stinks of rubbish all day.. and theres so much pollution from cars on the Hyde Road and a school right next to that. Town planning here is a nightmare and you cant even SEE any of the historic buildings anymore as you come in . The old spires and history is being engulfed by glass towers with no-one in them.
I would add that the council and developers such as C&C and Urban Splash regard artists as part of that 'regeneration' process - the soft front-end of gentrification. So, by supporting artists to move out to Gorton (Rogue / C&C) or Salford (Paradise Works / US) they pave the way for the next stage of development. They certainly know the 'value' of artists.
https://www.urbansplash.co.uk/blog/artists-are-the-vanguard-of-the-urban-revolution
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/business-news/opinion-property-developers-need-celebrating-13779376
I also strongly agree that more independent journalism is needed on this issue. As evidenced by the link above, the MEN often functions as a press release portal for the developers - who literally write the articles - there is rarely any critical evalulation. They get to control the narrative - avoiding tougher questions around affordable housing etc. Meanwhile, key voices are missing from the discussion, such as the many south-asian knitwear workers that were displaced from CRUSADER in 2017 - sadly on 2 of the 7 factories have survived. So when developers talk about building a 'community', it is a very narrow definition they have in mind.
Hi. I am delighted to find The Mill, and, then, the first article I read is on the housing/homelessness issue. It is central to the developing character of Manchester. One of my concerns is that the new, ugly flats being built in Salford demand expensive rents, which cannot be met. This, in turn, might mean that they will remain vacant and, eventually, will turn into slums. We know the buildings are of poor quality ( check it our for yourself by walking into a foyer and looking behind the 'gloss' at the poor workmanship).
As well, unlike in other vertical accomodation in cities around the world, there appears to be no community services -- a Tesco Express does not count.
Having lived in Fallowfield for over thirty years, I have watched the growth and change of our city centre with growing unease.
Thankyou for addressing this issue.
I see a real issue where these developments are not only pushing out local people without the income to afford the high rents but they are actively being marketed to 'young' professional and student sharers so older generations are also either being forced out or having to pay a much higher cost of living to live in the area they want to live in. I've yet to see a rental listing that says 'would suit mature professionals' because most older people are at a stage in their life where they don't want to flat share, this means they are less likely to be able to afford the high rents when a tenants monthly earnings have to be 3x the rental cost (with many of the new or higher standard apartments going at an average of £1000 - £1300, thats an annual income of £36,000 - £46,800 with the average Manchester salary being £28,392 according to the ONS as of April 19). Prices are therefore now at a level where the only way agents can let them is by targeting groups of young sharers and as those sharers continue to pay the high rents, the overseas landlords expect higher and higher yields from their investment so the rents go up.
Interesting article. The problem is one of balancing the underlying character of the area, moving with the times and keeping things real. Is a city centre full of high earning, not necessarily local people what's wanted? An inevitable slide towards pricing 'everyday' people out has a negative impact. Is this going to be a transient home? Where are all the schools? I have lived in the Manchester area for 34 years and I am torn between conflicting views of what I would like to see for this amazing city.
This programme has inspired me to donate to Shelter. It's not right what is happening in Manchester and I'm staggered at the complicity of the city council and interested in learning more and helping to shine a light on the situation. I am not a resident of Manchester but I have been in the past and it's alarming to see it's character changing so fast. I don't see anything good in celebrating aspirational renting which offers no security and is only appealing to the young.
This was such an interesting programme, and a great article. As a renter in Salford I’ve found it really hard to find anything for a reasonable price. We lived for a year in a £650pcm flat until rats got in. It seems to go from reasonably priced places that are extremely poor quality to nice flats that are £1000+pcm. There is no in between. To be anywhere near workplaces or the centre of town we have to pay so much.
Still I feel so lucky not to be in the position of the poor woman (and countless others) going through the housing association. I felt for her and her family so much.