Plans for first homes built by Manchester City Council firm passed

Plans for the first homes to be built by a council's new development arm have been approved.

Manchester City Council's housing firm This City intends to build 118 apartments and 10 houses in Ancoats.

The council hopes to build about 500 homes every year through the company, 20% of which will have capped rents.

Leader Bev Craig said the Ancoats development was the start of the "completion of a regeneration journey spanning two decades".

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the plans for a plot of scrub land next to Ancoats Green were approved despite some concerns being raised about parking.

The development will include affordable housing, which will be subsidised by the sale of 90 of the apartments, and some will be let under the Manchester Living Rent scheme, which sees the cost of renting set at or below the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) level.

The LHA is the level set by government that will cover a person's rent if they are on housing benefit.

Ms Craig said it was "great to see the first This City site out of the blocks and delivering the homes that we know Manchester people need".

"This is a really exciting time for Ancoats and the beginning of the completion of a regeneration journey spanning two decades," she added.

Planning committee members welcomed the new affordable housing at a meeting on Thursday, but highlighted the lack of parking.

Each of the 10 houses will have a parking space and seven disabled spaces will be provided at the two apartment blocks.

Labour councillor Gavin White said the development would be "complemented by the wider investment in public realm that will celebrate Ancoats Green as heart of the neighbourhood, helping to deliver a highly sustainable and low carbon community".

The application was approved unanimously by the planning committee.

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