Latest news with #PaulDennett
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
'We need to improve Salford precinct' says city mayor
A new masterplan is needed to improve a major shopping centre visited more than six million times a year, a city's mayor has said. Mayor of Salford Paul Dennett said he wanted to see the council and landowners work together to create a new blueprint for Salford Shopping Centre in Pendleton after the authority had "invested large sums" in the surrounding locally as Salford precinct, the shopping centre has an annual footfall of about 6.5m visits a year according to its owners Praxis firm was approached for comment by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The 81-floor shopping centre was first built in 1972 and has been refurbished several times in its fifty-year Dennett said: "We have invested large sums of money in and around the precinct."If you look at some of the infrastructure that we've put in, the pavements, the bus stops, we have our credit union there, there's a new youth zone very close to there."For me there's a huge opportunity here to start to join up the dots and hopefully work together."The city mayor stressed the importance of the precinct's affordable shops, calling it an "absolute hub" in the comments come after the government recently announced Pendleton could get up to £20m of funding over the next 10 years as one of several "trailblazer" neighbourhoods across the £13m Salford Youth Zone has recently opened, providing activities for young people seven days a week. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
More than 100 affordable homes coming to neighbouring town
More than 100 new affordable homes coming to a neighbouring borough will be the first of many, according to its town hall bosses. New residents will soon be moving into 136 properties in Longshaw Drive, Little Hulton, and 29 in Tootal Grove in Weaste and Seedley, following formal approval at a recent town hall meeting in Salford. The homes will be made available for a mix of shared ownership, social rent, affordable rent and sale. Social rent typically sees the homes available for 50 per cent of the local market rent and affordable rent sees the homes at less than 80 per cent of the local market rent. Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said: 'The decisions made means we will have more truly affordable homes for local people in our city. "It is another significant milestone as we push forward with building even more high-quality, truly affordable homes. 'These 106 high quality homes in Little Hulton are of mixed sizes to meet local need and demand. 'At Tootal Grove it is hugely positive to see purpose built move on accommodation prioritised for rough sleepers that can be life changing for the people who move into them. "The wraparound support that comes with the homes will help people move to the next stage of their lives with vital support.' These new homes are part of a wider project to build 600 new homes that are truly affordable for the people of Salford. This was a promise made at the last election, which the local authority believes they are now delivering on. Cllr Tracy Kelly, deputy city mayor and lead member for housing and anti-poverty, said: 'We committed to building 600 affordable homes at the last election. "Local people are desperate for affordable homes to move into and it is good to see these homes coming forward for local people to move into. 'The homes will make a huge difference to the people who move into them and I hope to visit both estates when people are settled and see how they are enjoying their new communities.'
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'All landlords' in Greater Manchester issued warning amid Andy Burnham crackdown
All landlords in Greater Manchester will be expected to signed for a new 'UK-first' initiative set up by Andy Burnham. The Greater Manchester mayor has hailed a 'new era for renting' as his Good Landlord Charter finally gets going. More than 100 landlords have signed up for the scheme so far, including most social housing providers, covering more than 234,000 homes. As supporters of the scheme, they have all committed to a list of 21 criteria which sets out the standards expected of landlords. READ MORE: Teenager disappears after boarding flight at Manchester Airport READ MORE: LIVE updates as John Belfield cross-examined in Thomas Campbell murder trial These include a commitment to affordability, with clear and fair rent review and rent setting processes, as well as being responsive. Those who are judged to be meeting all these standards will be accredited as members - all of which is done at no cost to landlords. These member landlords will then be listed publicly on the charter's website allowing renters to check if they have been accredited. It comes as local authorities continue their crackdown on poor housing with nearly £1.47m collected in fines over the last two years. Mr Burnham hopes this will drive up standards with a 'twin-track' approach that recognises good landlords and punishes bad ones. Speaking at a housing conference in Manchester on Thursday (June 26), Salford mayor Paul Dennett, who leads the housing portfolio in the city-region, said he wants 'all private landlords' to sign up to the charter, but recognises that some will be reluctant to do so. He said: "It's about sorting the wheat from the chaff and then using our resources to tackle, through enforcement, the really poor standards. "That's where we want to go with this. It's a strategic approach ultimately to housing enforcement which we've never had before because of austerity." So far, more than half of all homes across the city-region are covered by the charter thanks to their landlords signing up, including 95 per cent of social housing with all landlords who are members of the Greater Manchester Housing Providers group having joined. Mr Dennett said that he expects all social housing landlords operating in Greater Manchester to meet the standards in the Charter. However, he recognised that some social housing providers are not currently meeting these standards, citing the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died in 2020 due to damp in his home in Rochdale as a recent example where standards were not met. It follows an announcement by the government this week about the first measures that will come into force under Awaab's Law. The legislation, which the Manchester Evening News campaigned for, puts strict deadlines on landlords to respond to hazards. Mr Dennett said that the Good Landlord Charter gets Greater Manchester ready for new legislation, including the Renters' Rights Bill. He also spoke of an amendment to that bill which would allow council officers to conduct property checks on properties faster. It comes after Mr Burnham announced that renters would have the right to request a 'property check' as part of his new charter. Mr Dennett said that council officers can already check properties, but need to give notice for entering properties and can't deal with issues retrospectively, which is why he hopes that the amendment which allow for property checks to happen quicker will go through. He said the right to request a property check will go ahead regardless, although no target date for its introduction has been set yet.
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Major Greater Manchester regeneration plan gets city's backing
Plans to transform two Greater Manchester boroughs have been backed by city Council gave its support to a new development zone that Salford and Trafford along the Manchester Ship Canal. Thousands of jobs could be created as homes and business premises are built, Salford leaders heard. The area is one of six "growth locations" across Greater Manchester boroughs that aim to bring in about £10bn of investment. Salford's mayor, Paul Dennett, said the long-term plan mean "we can secure significant infrastructure investment for this part of the region, while also creating a fairer, greener, healthier and more inclusive city".He added "much-needed homes and high quality jobs that local people deserve" would come from the projects. The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that the mayoral development zone proposal still needed approval from Trafford Council's executive on 16 June, and from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority on 27 week, Trafford council's executive member for economy and regeneration, Liz Patel, said the development would "see a whole range of opportunities for residents, businesses and visitors, to make the most of our vibrant, well-connected locations and great transport network". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
BBC News
31-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Salford property becoming 'less affordable'
Property in Salford is becoming "less affordable", despite efforts to build more homes, the city's mayor has Dennett warned that the cost of living in Salford was being pushed further out of reach for some residents as prices continued to surge.A report by the council stated that 1,903 affordable homes were built between 2019/20 and 2024/25, a figure it described as a "very successful" data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that average rents and house prices were climbing. "Despite us exceeding our housing targets, housing, property, rents have become less affordable in line with individual income and household income," Dennett said."I think it was Adam Smith who talked about if you increase supply it makes things more affordable, well apparently that does not happen in the city of Salford." 'A lot to do' Swathes of the city have benefited from large-scale regeneration, including key areas around the city centre Greengate neighbourhood and Salford the average house price in Salford was £217,000 in March 2025, which is up 3.6% from March 2024, according to the was also found to be a major issue, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said, with 753 households in temporary accommodation as of October 2024, including more than 1,000 council has launched Salford's Good Homes Strategy which runs up until is aimed at creating a "continuous pipeline of new housing" across the city, with "maximised" affordable accommodation from its housing includes a review of housing conditions around Salford, to make sure people are living in "good quality, safe, warm, dry, energy efficient" homes, which are "well managed".The council's cabinet team approved the new housing strategy during a meeting at Salford Civic Centre earlier this Kelly, Salford's deputy mayor and lead member for housing, said: "We're well aware that this is not in isolation with the council, it's a partnership approach."It's incumbent on all of our partners to work collaboratively to eradicate homelessness, temporary accommodation etcetera."This is not going to be a walk in the park, this is just the beginning really, we've got a lot to do." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
