'Manchesterism' - Burnham, economic regeneration, housing and place

Image: St Peter's Square Manchester - view to Town Hall annexe building where Future Cities Forum was hosted in April 2025.

Future Cities Forum is holding a discussion this week looking at the vision for the economic regeneration of the UK announced by Andy Burnham, who is hoping to become the next Prime Minister.

He has spoken of his ambition to allow UK regions greater control over infrastructure such as water and energy, and to create the biggest council house building programme since the post-war period while enabling a high streets 'renaissance'

Manchester City Council's Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration, Cllr Gavin White, Natalia Maximova, Partner and Design Director at Sheppard Robson, Yolande Barnes, Professor Emeritus and Chair of the Bartlett Real Estate Institute at UCL and Director of Yolande Barnes Consulting, and Mark Graham, Director at LDA Design and Manchester studio leader, will be joining the discussion and bringing their insight and experience to the debate.

Cllr Gavin White, hosted Future Cities Forum in April 2025 in the council offices in St. Peter's Square Manchester when talked about developing some of the city's historic buildings for new homes:

''It is a great opportunity at the moment for Manchester and the North and we at the Council have an ambitious strategy. The history of the city is important and one of the oldest buildings is the Ancoats Dispensary which is a grade two listed building and which is being turned into housing. In terms of new homes, we are looking at a significant growth of these in the city with 100,000 planned.

'We will be building 10,000 affordable homes over the next ten years and 60,000 over the next 30 years. Density is important and to build projects of scale. We work with developers such as Renaker which not only builds housing but also social infrastructure such as new primary schools.

'Strangeways is an important project which will provide 7,000 new homes and will be a key part of the city that needs some love. We are very aware that our rivers and canals need special attention as well as concentration on climate change with our new mobility hub at Ancoats. Wythenshawe town centre needs a lot of love too at the moment because it has no trees and no night time economy.'

Cllr Gavin White, also commented on the green agenda and transport:

'We are not anti-car in the city and I think the recent announcement from the UK government was a response to tariffs and protecting the car industry. The green agenda here is now ensuring that all houses are built with EV charging points. It is also not a bad thing to invest in roads. This investment is for cyclists and pedestrians too and so that bus routes can function.'

Image: St. Petersfield, courtesy of LDA Design

LDA Design's Director Mark Graham reacted by suggesting that policy was getting things right and wrong at the same time in the city.

'Transport and growth in Manchester are good but we also need to work harder towards cycling and walking measures. This all filters out into town centres outside the city. We need to get those town centres around the M60 to work. The new towns funding is becoming a bit of a distracting target with all the bidding for money that has to go on. It is more important that we deliver successful places.

'At Ashton we have a great plan in place and a strong focus around St Petersfield with a data centre at the heart of it. These are measures that harness town centre growth. Ashton is different to Stockport and we need to draw on the unique character of each place and use partnership to make it work.

LDA Design states:

'St Petersfield is set to become a desirable location for the innovation, design and tech sector, bringing quality jobs into the area. The masterplan will make St Petersfield a more connected part of the town through a mix of welcoming new public spaces, revitalised streets and uses.

'The site is already home to the Victorian Grade II* listed Ashton Old Baths, now a digital incubator centre and co-working space, and the vision seeks to capitalise on this success to catalyse further growth. It will create a framework for wider regeneration and investment and bring coherence to previous ad hoc development. The plan provides scope for new homes, 193,000 sq ft of commercial space and a hotel.

'Designated as an employment area, St Petersfield will benefit from a Dark Fibre network ensuring it has amongst the best digital connectivity in the country. It forms part of a new Mayoral Development Zone in Ashton, which also encompasses Ashton Moss West where LDA Design is shaping plans for a new centre for advanced manufacturing.'

Mark also gave his vision for one of the most historic streets in Manchester that LDA Design has been working on to create a sustainable transport system as well as preserve the city's heritage:

'Deansgate is an improvement street project in Manchester, where we have been working on sustainable transport and challenges of space, enabling growth around it. We want cyclists to ride more easily through it and at the moment there are huge amounts of people and cars. Our project has been an early vision for the council to consider and we have now taken a step back so that there can be more thinking to get the balance right. We need to understand where we are heading because this could be the best street in Europe.'

Image: Fallowfield Campus, Manchester, courtesy of Sheppard Robson

Natalia Maximova, Partner at Sheppard Robson, in the firm's Manchester office, leads on projects across different sectors, including universities, science, student living and mixed-use regeneration. She also sits on the practice’s design review board and is an active member of the sustainability team.

One important project for Sheppard Robson is the University of Manchester's Fallowfield Campus. Manchester is trying to attract and retain talent in the city, but has struggled to house students and provide housing options for those graduates intent in building their careers in the wider city region.

The firm describes the project:

The scheme will deliver 3,300 student beds alongside high-quality accommodation, new study and social spaces, facilities for support staff, and 1,200sqm of associated amenity space.

The project will provide much-needed student rooms in a development that prioritises sustainability, biodiversity and a sense of community, with enhanced connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists both throughout campus and to the wider area.

The massing strategy places the tallest buildings at the centre of the scheme, stepping down in level towards the boundary to align with the height of neighbouring buildings. The layout and orientation of the blocks aim to optimise space, sunlight and permeability of routes by the inclusion of underpasses and the utilisation of T-shaped blocks.

Blocks have been clustered to form “mini-communities”, a key trait of Fallowfield Campus, with courtyards, entrance gardens and communal spaces incorporated to foster chances for interactivity. Layout was also carefully planned to maintain the lush, green character of the site, with perimeter trees preserved to create screening for neighbours and to provide natural surroundings for students.

The history of the site will be reflected in the retention of key historic features, including the Mitzi Cunliffe-designed 1960s fibreglass relief artwork and the distinctive iron gates of Woolton Hall.

The new development has been designed to respond sensitively to the setting of listed buildings in the surrounding area. Materiality, especially brick, will reflect the surrounding context with either a complementary colour or one that allows the scheme to have its own character.

Andy Burnham will face the same pressures from short-staffed council planning departments and price rises in materials affecting the current UK government's house-building programme, if he becomes Prime Minister. How he will fund his ambition for the biggest council house building programme since the second world war, remains a question. He also spoke last week in his first major speech before taking over as Prime Minister, of the National Housing Philosophy pioneered in Finland.

Emeritus Professor at UCL, Yolande Barnes, spoke at our November 2025 pre-budget debate about public/private models for house building and creating beauty as well as amenity in neighbourhoods:

'Underlying all our discussions - whether these are around new towns, new housing and so on - is a fundamental feasibility and viability issue. The viability of sites is just not there in most parts of the country. The financial element is completely ignored in planning discussions. It goes way beyond that as it is also a holistic business model issue.

'Top down planning only talks about the supply side and numbers of units - we do not pay attention to demand. Public-private partnerships should pay more attention to demand. You then realise there is a mismatch between supply and where the demand is. I have a real issue with what we have been building over the last two to three decades, these very large blocks of flats (and as discussed demand will be more diverse across BTR). These are, to misquote Le Corbusier, 'expensive machines for living in'. The cost of occupying these types of properties is significantly higher than simpler types of properties and I would include mansion blocks in that.

'The optimist in me sees demand for mixed use neighbourhoods that look and feel great. If any manufacturer (and I include house builders in that) ignores demand, they risk not achieving the price they want and need on each unit. We have failed to see they are in competition with existing second hand stock. I have looked at the statistics and demographic projections and there will soon be a surplus of second hand stock. Unless new builds start to show beauty, character and amenity in their neighbourhoods, they will fail to achieve the value they need to be viable. We will see a decreasing supply of new homes until developers find a way of realising the potential of a place -we need to discuss place potential rather than place making.'

Image: Manchester's Victoria North development site, comprising 380 acres north of Manchester Victoria Station (courtesy of Manchester City Council / FEC)