In the shadow of the Etihad Stadium is the housing estate that time forgot. Those living at the Grey Mare Lane estate in Beswick - which was built some 50 years ago - have heard promises of regeneration for more than a decade.
And now work is finally under way with existing homes being re-roofed, over-clad and retrofitted to improve energy efficiency, giving them a fresh look. Plans are also in place to demolish 124 poor-quality maisonettes, flats and older houses, replacing them with new social rent low carbon homes, plus another 166 affordable rented homes and shared ownership properties.
But talk of a 'whole estate regeneration' with promises that privately-owned properties would also benefit has fallen flat – and homeowners are 'fuming'. Housing association One Manchester, which manages the social rented homes on the estate, told residents who have purchased their properties that they would also have their houses retrofitted too – subject to government funding.
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After months of discussion, homeowners finally signed the forms authorising the roofing, rendering and insulation work to be carried out – but weeks later they were told the funding is not available and the work would not happen. And to make matters worse, the residents have now learnt that the housing association did not even apply for any funding, saying the government grants and the other options they explored would not have covered all of the costs.
Marilyn Mannion, who has lived in her Sledmere Close home since it was built 50 years ago, said owner-occupiers like her have been 'up in arms' about it. She said: "We've been conned.
"We've lived here donkey's years. We're proud of our homes. To me, it's a complete and utter farce."
Mike Turner, who lives in Newcombe Close, said he raised his eyebrows when he heard that homeowners would get the work done for 'absolutely nothing'. But according to residents, One Manchester said missing out some properties in each terrace row would limit the energy efficiency of the retrofitted ones.
For Mike though, the savings in energy bills would have just been a bonus. He said: "It would make the area aesthetically better.
"I'm interested in getting the bills down, but that's not my main thing. People walk through this estate and it's a disgrace at the moment."
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Linda Wilde, who has lived in Redfield Close for 52 years, said residents were 'overjoyed' that the whole estate would be redone – but now she fears the area will end up looking 'far worse' with 'odd ones done here and there'. The 57-year-old bought her family home around 20 years ago using the Right To Buy scheme which allows council housing tenants to buy their properties.
The scheme, which was first introduced by the Thatcher government in 1980, means housing estates like this one often have a mix of owners and tenants. Linda bought the home where she grew up and raised her own daughter after her parents died, asking herself, 'well, what have I got to show for my life?'
But she fears this half-scaffolded estate regeneration will leave the community 'broken up'. She said: "The estate is going to look like a bit of a hodgepodge.
"It's just going to look like a disgrace. It's dead depressing. It's a shame because it's been a community that's not benefited from much through the years."
Under Right To Buy - or Right to Acquire as it is called for housing associations homes - tenants are offered discounts to purchase the properties they live in. But owning your home does not mean you are rich, residents repeatedly insist.
Sarah Burgess-Hamlett, who lives in Mountfield Walk, said she might have saved up to get the work done on her home if she was given some warning. However, the rising cost of living means she cannot afford to pay for it now.
She said: "People think if you own your own property, then you've got money. A lot of people here have mortgages. Heating costs have gone up.
"They've got children and all the costs of that and expenses of getting to work. Just because you own your own house doesn't mean you're well off."
Owner occupiers have been given information about low-cost loans, but few are considering taking one out – especially those who are pensioners now. Yvonne Davies, an Arrowsmith Walk resident for decades, bought her home 15 years ago.
The 63-year-old would pay to get the retrofit work done herself if she had the money to do it – but at her age, she does not want to be taking out a loan. She said: "It's stressful because surely the house prices are going to suffer from it. It's not going to look as good. I just think it's going to look a mess."
Glenda O'Hanlon, who lives in Sunbeam Walk, also doubts the work is worth going into debt for, even if the estate will end up looking like a 'jigsaw puzzle'. She hopes the funding will be found – but she is not holding her breath.
Her neighbour Donna, who recently bought a property in which she has lived for 12 years, says the estate's residents have been in 'limbo' for a while. She hesitated buying her home when there was talk of the estate being completely flattened, fearing compulsory purchase orders would be used.
And the 42-year-old was told to 'hang fire' before renovating her own home. She said: "They were promising the houses are safe, they're all going to be regenerated – it's going to look like Ancoats.
"Now our houses are going to look like sh**. It's going to depreciate in value."
Another family in Yeoman Walk are 'fuming' after finding out three months into their mortgage that privately-owned properties will not be retrofitted. Their neighbour Bose, who has lived in her home as a tenant since 2011 and bought the property later down the line, said she was shocked by the news.
She said: "What's the point? If you're going to do regeneration, you need to do the whole estate. The whole point is for the whole estate to look uniform."
Paula Colebourne, who has lived in Claybrook Walk for 49 years, was also shocked, despite not being bothered about all the homes looking the same. The 77-year-old owner-occupier, who refuses to pay to retrofit her home, says she would have painted her house another colour anyway just to be 'awkward'.
But the overriding feeling for owner-occupiers is that they have been 'let down'. Ancoats and Beswick councillor Majid Dar says he is 'disappointed' in how the process has been handled with the offer to owner occupiers so far unfulfilled. However, he is 'positive' there will be a solution for privately-owned properties. He said: "You can't half regenerate an estate. You can't just leave it."
Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell says the regeneration of the Grey Mare Lane estate has been on the cards since before she was first elected in 2012. She said the regeneration was described as a 'whole estate scheme' since the masterplan was first mooted years ago and finally approved last November.
She said: "This is one of the poorest estates in the country – just because you bought your property through Right To Buy doesn't mean you're well-off. It would dramatically change the whole look of the estate.
"It would make it look worse than it is now because you'd have such a disparity. We don't want to leave a divided estate with haves and have-nots."
The Labour MP said it was a 'huge disappointment' to find out that the funding had not been secured for privately-owned properties while speaking to the estate's residents a few months ago and not directly from One Manchester. She was given various reasons why the work would not go ahead, but later found out that the housing association did not apply for any funding at all.
As a charity, the social landlord says it cannot use tenants' money to make improvements to privately-owned homes, but it had hoped to use the Greater Manchester Local Authority Delivery (LAD) pot provided by the government. However, One Manchester found that the funding would not have covered the total cost of the works to the privately-owned properties so it did not apply.
With the contractors having already started work on the social rented homes, the MP fears the estate will be left looking this way for the next 20 to 30 years. Powell is now calling on One Manchester to lead the way in finding a solution.
A One Manchester spokesperson said: "We understand the frustration of residents and it is unfortunate that the appropriate funding has not been secured to retrofit the privately owned properties in the Grey Mare Lane estate. However we are above all else a charity and we must ensure we act as such.
"Our primary legal duty is to the customers of One Manchester, not just within Grey Mare Lane but across all of our 12,000 properties. We have always been clear that any improvements to owner occupier properties would be subject to securing the appropriate government-backed funding to cover the full costs of retrofit works.
"We need to secure this funding as we are not legally allowed to use tenants’ money to make improvements to privately owned homes due to our objectives as a charity. We have made great efforts to secure sufficient funding to retrofit the entire estate.
"This includes exploring the offer of GM LAD funding – however this is insufficient to cover the total costs of works to the privately owned properties. We will continue to keep residents updated as we move forward."
Lord Callanan, who is the Minister for Business, Energy and Corporate Responsibility, has written back to the Manchester Central MP saying he is hoping the privately-owned homes can be covered by the GM LAD funding.
