BUILDING BETTER HOMES AND STRONGER COMMUNITIES FOR GROWTH
On Monday 29th June, the Greater Manchester APPG held a parliamentary meeting at the Palace of Westminster to explore the infrastructure, policy, and funding conditions needed to accelerate housing delivery across the region.
The session brought together parliamentarians, local government representatives, housing experts, and industry leaders to discuss how Greater Manchester can pioneer a "people and places first" approach to sustainable, inter-generational housing.
The session was chaired by Greater Manchester APPG Chair Jo Platt MP and Michael Wheeler MP, and was attended by MPs and stakeholders from across Greater Manchester and beyond.
Our expert panel included:
Phil Mayall, Managing Director, Muse and Board Member, Northern Powerhouse Partnership
Sarah Longlands, Chief Executive, CLES (Centre for Local Economic Strategies)
Catherine Holmes, Assistant Director (North), Homes England
Gill Morris, Greater Manchester APPG Secretariat
Discussions focused heavily on the mechanics of housing delivery, viability, and public sector capacity. We addressed the pressing economic and social challenges facing the region, noting that with thousands of people in temporary accommodation and growing social housing waiting lists, there is an urgent need to empower local authorities to become active players in the housing market once again.
A recurring theme was the economic viability gap, particularly regarding brownfield versus greenfield development. While brownfield sites maximize existing infrastructure and create a strong community multiplier effect, they carry high upfront remediation costs.
We also explored alternative delivery models and system-wide reforms to build long-term local capacity and retain skilled development teams. Contributors also highlighted the importance of integrating healthy home standards into both new builds and the retrofit of existing properties.
Key Messages
Funding certainty is vital for growth: Long-term policy and investment certainty are essential to de-risk complex developments, secure supply chains, and allow providers to plan for the future.
Public sector capacity must be rebuilt: Restoring the financial tools and technical capacity of local authorities is critical to getting the "housing machine" working again and enabling councils to build directly.
Viability metrics must account for inaction: The true cost of the housing shortage, such as rising expenditure on temporary accommodation, should be factored into viability frameworks to justify front-heavy public investments.
Brownfield development requires creative funding: Prioritizing brownfield sites offers immense long-term community value, but requires innovative co-investment, stacked funding, and long-term land strategies to offset initial costs.
Devolution accelerates delivery: Integrated funding settlements remove the administrative burden of competitive bidding, allowing local authorities to focus directly on delivery and long-term strategic pipelines.
Community-led housing drives pride in place: Incorporating community ownership, small-scale local solutions, and community benefit societies ensures that housing delivery aligns with local identity and aspirations.
Future homes must be healthy and sustainable: Housing delivery must look beyond raw targets to incorporate energy efficiency, healthy living standards, and the proactive infrastructure required for future energy networks and retrofitting.
