Manchester council has launched its own building company – called This City – to construct affordable and market homes to rent.

The council says schemes developed through This City will focus on high quality, low-carbon homes and deliver a mix of affordable rent and market properties – with the latter helping to subsidise the development of homes priced at or below the Local Housing Allowance rate. This means they will be accessible to people in receipt of housing benefit. 

A site in the Ancoats suburb has been unveiled as the first project by the new company, with Wates Construction appointed as the lead contractor responsible for delivering the 128 apartments and townhouses – 30 per cent of which will be for accessible rent. 

All future This City developments will include a minimum of 20 per cent accessible rented homes on completion, which will be available at or below the Local Housing Allowance level.

This City eventually wants to deliver up to 500 new homes each year – thereby increasing the number of accessible rent homes available to Manchester people.

This phase builds on recent regeneration successes to further the evolution of Ancoats into a sustainable neighbourhood that is even more attractive to people and families keen to settle and stay in the area.