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Hello
A few months ago I promised to never mention Neighbours again in this newsletter as the soap came to an end after 37 years.
Well it turns out that promise was worth nothing, because the Aussie soap is being revived by Amazon and I haven't shut up about it all day.
Thankfully the new episodes will be free, which is good news as we weather a recession that’s predicted to worsen next year. I’m currently celebrating with a coffee at Lassiters (or rather the cut-price version - a brew in my kitchen).
I did slightly struggle to concentrate during Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement with the Neighbours theme tune swirling around in my head. But I managed to get a grip in the end, so we’ll be discussing the implications in today’s newsletter.
We’ll also be looking at the thousands of empty homes in Manchester and the crisis in student accommodation. Let’s begin.
Long term-empties
Manchester has more second homes than almost any other local authority in England.
A total of 6,360 properties in Manchester are classed as second homes, according to new research by Action on Empty Homes.
That’s a 7.9 per cent increase compared to 2021, when there were 5,894 such properties.
As Reach data unit’s David Dubas-Fisher writes, these are homes that are unlived in, but are fully furnished.
They can include holiday lets like AirBnBs as well as ‘buy-to-leave’ properties, which are purchased as investments and left unoccupied in the expectation that their value will rise.
Second homes 2022
- Manchester: 6,360
- Salford: 2,441
- Trafford: 841
- Wigan: 472
- Stockport: 385
- Oldham: 279
- Bury: 240
- Tameside: 118
- Rochdale: 39
Bolton: 536
Just three local authorities in England have a higher number than our city - Cornwall (13,292), Kensington & Chelsea (7,492), and Camden (7,125).
Manchester also has a higher number than areas more traditionally associated with holiday homes, such as Dorset (5,845), North Norfolk (5,468) and East Suffolk (4,134).
While Manchester may have one of the highest overall numbers, in percentage terms it doesn’t rank so high. Some 2.6 per cent of properties in our city are classed as second homes - the 32nd highest in England.
The City of London has the highest percentage of any area with 22.3 per cent of all properties classed as second homes.
Salford has also seen one of the largest increases in second homes in the country. A total of 2,441 properties in the city are now classed as second homes - an increase of 503 compared to 2021.
The number of long-term empty homes - those empty for more than six months with no exemption from council tax - is also on the rise. There are 2,189 in Manchester, up from 2,130 in 2021.
Long-term Empty Homes 2022
- Manchester: 2,189
- Wigan: 1,497
- Rochdale: 1,385
- Stockport: 1,275
- Oldham: 1,187
- Trafford: 1,173
- Bury: 1,133
- Salford: 1,019
- Tameside: 802
Bolton: 1,642
Chris Bailey, national campaign manager for Action on Empty Homes says it’s shocking to see long-term empty homes rising while nearly 100,000 families are trapped in Temporary Accommodation in England.
“Continued growth in long-term empty homes while our housing crisis intensifies sends a clear message - we are failing to meet housing needs and failing to make best use of our existing homes,” he said.
No room at the inn
While thousands of properties stand empty, Manchester’s student housing crisis rumbles on.
There are 4,000 more students than there are rooms available to them, according to student property search site StuRents. The data relates to accommodation in halls of residence, shared houses, and private purpose-built student accommodation.
This academic year, scores of first-year students were offered thousands of pounds by the University of Manchester (UoM) to give up their place in halls. While Manchester Metropolitan University offered freshers £100 per week to cancel their rooms.
UoM say 157 students took up the offer for a payment of £2,500.
City centre reporter Ethan Davies has been looking into the issue and will be revealing further details over the weekend.
Who's paying the price?
Households will face increased energy bills, high inflation and tax hikes as the country is hit by recession.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told MPs he was having to make difficult decisions to ensure a ‘shallower downturn’, but the economy was still expected to shrink 1.4 per cent in 2023.
The pound fell against the US dollar as Mr Hunt delivered his Autumn Statement in the Commons this afternoon.
The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast the UK’s inflation rate to be 9.1 per cent this year and 7.4 per cent next year, contributing to the squeeze on living standards.
The cap on average household energy bills will increase from £2,500 to £3,000 from April.
While state pension and benefits will increase in line with September’s 10.1 per cent inflation figure.
Labour Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Conservatives have ‘crushed our economy, given up on growth and sent inflation through the roof and as usual, it is ordinary working people who are paying the price’.
You can read the key points from Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn statement here.
So what does it mean locally?
Mr Hunt has announced ‘additional flexibility’ for local authorities to increase council tax. But that won’t fill the black hole in council funding.
Manchester Council leader Bev Craig yesterday said there is 'nothing left' to cut after years of austerity as the authority looks ahead to a three-year budget gap of £96m.
The huge impact of inflation will cost the council an extra £42m over the next two years alone, she says and has predicted the most vulnerable will suffer even more, claiming ‘working class people are having to pay for government mistakes’.
Meanwhile, Sacha Lord, night time economy adviser to the mayor, says landlords and restaurant owners will be ‘deeply concerned’ by the ‘inevitable’ downturn in consumer spending. "Disposable income underpins our UK economy and I’m hugely concerned that the policies outlined today will create a severe contraction in the sector,” he said.
Imran Hussain, director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, also has concerns. He says the increase in benefits in line with inflation will be a great relief to families, but previous cuts and freezes mean ‘basic benefit levels are still well out of step with what families need to live on’.
NPR
Among the various commitments mentioned in the Autumn Statement is a promise of ‘transformative growth plans for our railways’, including ‘core Northern Powerhouse Rail’ and High Speed 2 to Manchester.
That word ‘core’ is important and has been interpreted as a backtracking on Liz Truss’ commitment to build NPR ‘in full’.
There is some good news though...
Trailblazers
A new ‘trailblazer’ devolution deal with Greater Manchester has been promised by early 2023. This would devolve powers ‘to deliver levelling up in areas such as skills, transport and housing’.
The government is looking to provide single departmental-style settlements at the next Spending Review for areas with these deals. They say it will give areas ‘more flexibility and accountability over key economic growth funds, moving away from competitive bidding processes’.
Time to go?
Pressure is mounting on Rochdale Boroughwide Housing’s chief executive to step down following the death of Awaab Ishak.
The toddler died following prolonged exposure to mould, which led to breathing difficulties resulting in cardiac arrest on December 21, 2020.
RBH described the death as a 'big learning experience' during the inquest and says it is now spending £1.2 million improving homes on the Freehold estate. But that work only began after reporter Stephen Topping exposed the conditions families were suffering in over the summer - more than 18 months on from the tot's death.
The Housing Ombudsman has launched a fresh probe into RBH following three more 'medium or high risk' cases involving damp and mould.
And Housing secretary Michael Gove has questioned why RBH chief executive Gareth Swarbrick is still in post.
Coun Daniel Meredith, Rochdale Council's cabinet member for highways and housing, was previously ousted from RBH's representative body after high-profile criticism of the organisation's plans for the Seven Sisters. He is urging Mr Swarbrick to resign.
More than a thousand people have so far given their backing to a Manchester Evening News campaign to make sure no tenant can suffer in the same conditions Awaab faced.
Weather etc
- Friday: Yellow weather warning of rain. 10C.
- Trains: Special timetable operating on Transpennine Express due to shortage of train crews. Passengers are advised to check their journey if travelling.
- Trams: Revised service on Manchester Metrolink due to over running engineering works at Piccadilly Gardens. Some Metrolink services are operating with changes until the end of November.
- Trivia question: Which former Corrie actor did a stint on the Australian soap Neighbours?
Manchester headlines
Mottram bypass: Construction on the long-awaited Mottram bypass is set to begin next year after proposals were approved by the government. The A57 Link Roads bypass, which will ease congestion on the busy route between Manchester and Sheffield, has been given the final seal of approval by Transport Minister Huw Merriman. It comes after a decade-long saga over the multi-million pound Trans-Pennine upgrade programme, which would see a new dual carriageway created from the M67 junction 4 roundabout to a new junction on the A57(T) at Mottram Moor. A new single carriageway would also be constructed to connect to the A6018 Roe Cross Road and a new single carriageway linking the A57(T) at Mottram Moor to a new junction on the A57 at Woolley bridge.
Out of pocket: Frustrated fosterers have pleaded with leaders for more support as they say the cost of living crisis is forcing kids to miss out on activities and carers to go ‘out of pocket’. Hayley Wood from the Oldham Foster Carer’s Working Group submitted a question to full council after the group said they were unable to get ‘elected leaders to listen to our plight’ and to take their concerns seriously. “Carers cannot continue to care for the children and young people to statutory requirements without adequate resources that are needed to meet them,” they stated. Council chiefs have said support is in place for foster carers, and a review of payments to them is being completed later this month. More here.
Haul worth millions: A million fake prescription drugs have been seized from a flat as part of an ongoing drive to dismantle Manchester's Counterfeit Street. Officers found fake pills labelled as Dihydrocodeine, Diazepam, Lorazepam and Codeine. The haul is thought to have a street value of several million pounds and was discovered during a search of business premises in the Strangeways area. A man has been arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply, possession of cannabis and drug driving.
Disaster: Royal Oldham Hospital’s A&E department has been likened to a ‘scene from a disaster film’ by Liberal Democrat Councillor Dave Murphy. He told a recent full council meeting: “Ambulances queued outside, beds filling the corridors of A&E, the staff running around and parking carnage – likened to a scene from a disaster film, this is Oldham Royal Hospital A&E on a daily basis.” He said he made no criticism staff but rather the ‘situation they find themselves in’. Coun Barbara Brownridge, cabinet member for health and social care, said an extra £1.9m has been secured ‘to cope with winter pressures’ but the government has promised ‘6,000 new GPs’ and ‘we haven’t seen a single one rock up in Oldham yet’.
Worth a read
James Brown says Manchester played an important part in his progression to become founder of Britain's most notorious magazine.
A high-school drop-out turned music fanzine writer, the Leeds native was inspired by the ‘Madchester’ scene, witnessing first-hand the soaring ambition of the city’s musicians.
He eventually founded Loaded in 1994, after a period as features editor at NME. James has been speaking to crime reporter John Scheerhout about those days, his time in the city and ending up in rehab for this fascinating feature.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: Ryan Thomas.
