Downtown in Business was delighted to welcome Councillor Gavin White, Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration at Manchester City Council, to the latest DIB Leaders Lunch at the Dakota Manchester.
With Manchester continuing to experience significant growth and investment, the lunch provided an opportunity for business leaders to hear directly from the council about its housing and regeneration priorities and the opportunities and challenges facing the city.
Housing was naturally high on the agenda, with Manchester pursuing an ambitious target to deliver at least 36,000 new homes by 2032, including 10,000 social, council and genuinely affordable homes. The city has also reported a record year for affordable and social housing completions.
The discussion explored how Manchester can continue to deliver the homes needed to support its growing population and economy, while creating successful neighbourhoods and ensuring development benefits existing communities.
Gavin also shared his perspective on the role of brownfield land, investment and public and private sector partnerships in unlocking new development. Manchester City Council has highlighted its use of council-owned brownfield land, alongside grant funding and partnerships with housing providers, as part of its approach to increasing housing delivery.
Regeneration across the city was another key theme, including the importance of creating places that combine new homes with jobs, investment, green space, infrastructure and thriving local centres. Recent plans for areas such as Water Street demonstrate the scale of the opportunity, with the council seeking to deliver new housing, including affordable homes, alongside new public space and employment opportunities.
The conversation comes at an important point for Greater Manchester, with housing and economic growth remaining central to the region’s wider ambitions. Greater Manchester has set out plans to significantly increase housing delivery, including a commitment to building 10,000 new council homes by 2028.
For DIB, bringing together senior business and civic leaders for open conversations about the future of our cities is at the heart of what our Leaders Lunch programme is all about.
Thank you to Gavin White for joining us and sharing his insight, and to everyone who attended and contributed to another engaging DIB Leaders Lunch at Dakota Manchester.
