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Almost two-thirds of the properties on Matthews Lane in Levenshulme are rented out by landlords. It’s, by Manchester’s standards, quite an anomaly.
Around 90,000 homes across Manchester are part of the private rented sector, which accounts for around 38 pc of housing in the city. However, the sector remains largely unregulated and can result in rogue landlords going unchecked.
This week, four new selective licensing schemes were launched in Moss Side, Whalley Range, Rusholme, Longsight and Levenshulme. The streets involved in the new scheme were selected according to the number of private rented properties in them.
As part of the scheme, landlords in areas part of the scheme will be required to obtain a licence and address any issues relating to poor-quality homes and management standards.
Joseph Timan visited Matthews Lane this week to find out the situation there and how residents living nearby feel about the new scheme. Manchester Council estimates that 170 of 264 homes on the lane are privately rented.
"This is a rubbish home," Elahe Daryoush, a single mother who lives with her two children in Maida Street - an offshoot of Matthews Lane, said, "but I have to stay here. I don't have a choice."
Elahe explained that she is waiting for her housing association to remove the mould in her property. It’s been reported but she says the mould is making her 16-year-old asthmatic son cough in the meantime.
Next month, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham will set out his plans for a Good Landlord Charter aimed at driving up housing standards. Initially focused on the private rented sector, social housing providers have agreed to sign up to the scheme too following the tragic death of toddler Awaab Ishak.
Greater Manchester Housing Providers chair Charlie Norman said: "Providing safe, decent homes, and ensuring the voice of all tenants is heard and acted on is fundamental to what we do as housing providers.
"The death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale, and the issues highlighted in the coroners’ verdict last year have rightly galvanised the housing sector into firm and meaningful action to drive up standards.
“We recognise there are broad lessons for the sector to learn on how we deal with condensation, damp and mould and wider disrepair, and how we work with tenants to resolve issues quickly, with empathy and respect."
In today's Mancunian Way, we'll be looking at fears of anti-social behaviour, future plans for a well-loved warehouse, a pledge by the Mayor and some far-right leafleting.
Under siege
Residents in Fallowfield say they are ‘living in fear’ and are scared to leave their house as the area is being overrun by anti-social and disruptive behaviour.
One woman told Sophie Halle-Richards that her breast was groped by a drunken man whilst she waited to cross Wilmslow Road to go to the nearby supermarket. The woman, who reported the incident to police, said she was left shocked by the incident as it happened on such a busy and public road.
"It really surprised me," she said. "It's Wilmslow Road. It's lined with shops, bars and restaurants. I really didn't expect it, it just came out of nowhere.
"The man didn't say anything and looked very dazed. His friend was very apologetic and said he'd had too much to drink but as the police said to me that's not an excuse for that behaviour.”
The woman, who is aged in her 50s, said she believed the incident was part of a wider issue in the area, where street drinking and public drug consumption are now considered to be the norm amongst students and vulnerable people living in nearby temporary accommodation.
She fears that the recent decision by Manchester Council to grant the Shell garage on Wilmslow Road in Fallowfield a licence to sell alcohol between 10am and 10pm will only make the situation worse.
"I've heard people dismiss incidents like these as 'well it's Fallowfield' but the needs of other residents matter too,” she added. “I work full-time, I pay council tax, and I live in social housing. Due to the housing crisis, I cannot easily move and I cannot afford to buy property.
"Everyone deserves to live in a community where they feel safe. The laissez-faire manner in which the Council are currently granting licences is jeopardising the safety and wellbeing of all residents in this community. It feels like a community under siege."
‘Cruel' leaflets
A far-right extremist group has come under fire after propaganda leaflets were found stashed inside food parcels delivered to homeless people in Manchester.
Activists from Patriotic Alternative have shared pictures of themselves on social media handing out sandwiches, fruit and snacks, along with anti-refugee flyers. Leaflets given to rough sleepers say: "Five star hotels for migrants whilst Brits are on the streets”.
Similar flyers have been handed out in Newcastle and posted through letterboxes in Merseyside - near to where a hotel in Knowsley was used to house asylum seekers.
Speaking about the leaflets, Salford and Eccles MP Rebecca Long-Bailey said: "Racism and hatred offer no hope for tackling homelessness."
Newcastle Labour MP Chi Onwurah added: "It is cruel and hypocritical for a far-right group that seeks to divide us all, that scapegoats the poorest and wants to make us all poorer, to be giving out food parcels.”
Patriotic Alternative, which has been formed out of splits in the British National Party and other far-right groups, often stage anti-migrant protests across the UK.
A researcher at anti-fascism body Hope Not Hate said Patriotic Alternative tries to hide its extremism under a veneer of community politics.
David Lawrence said: “Photographing its activists distributing packages exclusively to white homeless people is just another attempt to do that. Patriotic Alternative is a band of gutter racists attempting to stoke divisions across the UK.
“We recommend anyone receiving their leaflet puts it straight in the bin, where it belongs.”
Technical reforms
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has unveiled plans for a Manchester Baccalaureate, which he hopes will maximise young people’s chances of getting a good job.
The MBacc would aim to create a clear path from education into a career for people pursuing technical education, equal to those on the university route, and will be an alternative to the current Ebacc which measures the achievement of GCSE students in a small pool of subjects, including English, mathematics and history.
"Fixing technical education seems to me to be the single biggest thing that this country needs to do if it's to have a positive growth story in the coming decades,” Mr Burnham told an event at Manchester’s People’s History Museum.
The new system for technical education in Greater Manchester would include T Levels, qualifications developed in collaboration with employers and businesses that can be studied by 16-18 year olds after finishing their GCSEs - as well as apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships.
Mr Burnham said the MBacc would be "a judgement about the subjects that our employers in our economy want".
"We believe there should be two clear equal routes for young people from 14 to 19,” Mr Burnham explained. “One academic, one technical, but actually the two routes taking you to the same place, one route might get you to that same place without debt, which might make it an even more attractive route."
An expanded warehouse
Plans to redesign Victoria Warehouse with a 200-room hotel, a roof terrace and a seven-storey car park have been submitted.
The existing complex, made up of three early 20th-century warehouses and ancillary buildings, is currently used as a popular gig venue but has faced complaints of overcrowding at previous events.
If the plans are approved, there would be a 200-room hotel, as well as external alterations; a roof terrace; and a seven-storey multi-storey car park boasting 183 spaces in the eastern warehouse.
The western warehouse would include a change of use of the second and third floors for corporate events space - including a glazed extension to the roof; a new glazed entrance; external lifts; and other internal and external alterations.
The central warehouse will also get a new roof, reports Nick Jackson. The plans have been developed to enable Victoria Warehouse to host and lead ‘a wider range and depth of events that will attract a broader and wider range of artists and exhibitors to the complex', according to a design and access statement.
Applicant David Cohen, of Adam Geoffrey Management Ltd, stated: “The client is seeking to develop the existing operation into a high-quality hotel, conference and events destination to take advantage of current market trends.
“The additional function suite accommodating 500 people is an essential component of the hotel development.”
The venue first started life in 1932 as a base for The Liverpool Warehousing Company, and was used to store thousands of pounds of cotton, fabric and confectionery. It was in 2005 that the venue began being used as an event facility.
Coronation Treat
A tea room run by the wife of a Coronation Street legend has garnered huge queues for its brilliant cakes.
Morley Tearooms, near Wilmslow, has been run by Emma Gleave, the wife of Simon Gregson, since October. Her husband, who plays Steve McDonald in the popular ITV soap, even helps out when the cafe is busy.
"It's amazing what Emma has done already here, I'm so proud,” he told Dianne Bourne. “People are queuing out of the door for her cakes.
"There's a group of ladies here who want to nominate her for an award for her cakes, and people are now coming in asking if they can buy whole Victoria sponges they're that popular. If I'm not at work I like to pop in for a sandwich as it's better than making one at home."
Emma and Simon had visited the tearooms, which is part of the Morley Nurseries and garden centre site, for years as customers so when they found out that the previous owners were preparing to leave last year, Emma jumped at the chance to take the café over.
"I'm working seven days a week but I love it,” she explains. “I'd always said I wanted a café and years ago when Simon and I first met I bought a teaset and said to him "one day I'm going to have a tea shop". Now, 15 years later, here we are, it's come true."
You can find out more about the tearooms here.
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Weather etc
Temperatures: Cloudy. 17C.
Roads: Contraflow and roadworks on A62 Oldham Way between B6477 Prince Street and A627 Ashton Road (King Street roundabout) until May 26. Delays expected.
Trivia question: On May 16, 1999, Manchester United won the Carling Premiership Championship against Tottenham Hotspur with 2-1. Andy Cole scored one goal, but who scored the other for United?
Manchester headlines
Huge food hall: Marks & Spencer has confirmed a 16,000 sq ft Stockport food hall, which will create more than 70 jobs, will open in less than a month’s time. It will mark the retailer’s return to the area after closing its Merseyway store two years ago. More here.
Dance off: A lap dancing club in Altrincham which has been the source of residents’ complaints of fighting and anti-social behaviour looks set to close after operating for 17 years. Read about it here.
Binned: A man who dropped a cigarette butt in Saddleworth Moor in the height of summer, despite being just metres away from a waste bin, has been prosecuted and fined. Details here.
No offence: Greater Manchester Police has decided that 'no offences were committed' following a complaint over a 'possible breach of electoral regulations' in Stockport. An allegation was made to the council's returning officer, which was believed to involve concerns that the secrecy of postal votes had been compromised at this month's local elections.
Worth a read
An open-air swimming lido offered Mancunians the joy of the seaside without having to leave the city.
Norden Riviera, located off Edenfield Road in Norden, Rochdale, opened in 1935 and was described as being 'Rochdale by the sea' for tourists.
The open-air pool was heated and came equipped with diving boards, slides and spectator stands. There were also attractive gardens, a cafe, a sports field with horse riding facilities, fences for show jumping, cricket pitches and areas for ball games.
The Second World War saw the Riviera become less attractive with visitors and the area fell into disrepair in the 1950s.
Take a trip back in time here.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email adam.maidment@reachplc.com.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: David Beckham.
