Housing pension plan moves forward
26 September 2012
The Greater Manchester Pension Fund will invest in new housing in the region, it has been agreed.
The pension fund has signed a memorandum of understanding with Manchester City Council and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) that will see it fund the construction of over 240 new homes.Under the plans, the council and HCA will provide land for development across five sites in the city. The partnership will now procure a contractor to build the homes and a property manager to manage those properties that will be rented.
The pension fund, council and HCA will generate a return on their investments by selling and renting the new properties.
“The economic climate has severely slowed home building in recent years and levels of development are not keeping up with the city’s demand,” said Manchester City Council deputy leader, Jim Battle.
“This new innovative model tackles these issues, pushing forward development opportunities while ensuring a supply of new attractive homes are available to residents at affordable prices.”
Initial plans for the new funding mechanism were first announced in February this year.
