Housing provider One Manchester has exceeded its ambitions to build 500 new homes across south and east Manchester within five years, with a total of 663 new homes recently either completed, under construction, or with full approval to go ahead within the next few months.

At its inception in April 2015, the company committed to provide more affordable housing and tenure options for residents across the city.  Just three years later and faced with an unprecedented rise in homelessness across the city, it is doubling the target of its original pledge and is now committed to delivering at least 1,000 homes by 2020.

The housing provider’s mission is to “act as much more than a social landlord.”

The organisation states that it:

“prioritises creating resilient communities and outstanding community resources, helping people to manage their money, gain new skills, start businesses and stay healthy as well.

“With Manchester’s rapid expansion becoming more visible in the growth of major private developments and private rented accommodation, a lack of newer good quality and affordable housing is highlighting growing inequalities across the city.”

To help tackle some of these issues, One Manchester is looking at ways to intervene in poorly managed and maintained private-rented sector homes, particularly in East Manchester. The organisation is working with its partners and stakeholders to develop proposals and is sponsoring a major conference in July, with the support of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, to bring together views on how interventions could work across the wider region.

One Manchester is also investing in ending the plight of entrenched rough sleeping in the city by contributing towards the SIB (Social Impact Bond) with Trafford Housing Trust and Bridges Fund Management; a project which has now engaged over 500 rough sleepers and has so far resulted in over 60 people securing accommodation.

Chief executive of the group, Dave Power, said:

“We set out to be ambitious with our initial plan to build 500 new homes in five years, so to have surpassed this target with two years remaining is an absolutely incredible achievement by all of the team.”

In the three years prior to the merger and One Manchester’s subsequent formation in 2015, Eastlands Homes and City South Manchester between them provided around 50 new build homes.

Mr Power adds:

“The whole point of the merger was to pool our expertise and resources to help raise more money and drive efforts towards building much needed new homes across Manchester. It’s very encouraging to see from the results that this decision has proved to be so effective.

“However, the plight of the homeless and the ongoing national housing crisis mean we must never forget that huge price increases in the private sector mean that ordinary working people and families are struggling just as much to save for deposits or even just to afford their monthly rent.

“Our work across Manchester has never been more important to ensure that residents have access to high quality affordable homes, or to rent-to-buy and shared ownership schemes which help to make housing more accessible, as well as a number of market rent properties that allow reinvestment into community services and the local supply chain.”