Legal News

Manchester City Council has said that the Manchester Residential Quality Guidance will ensure design standards for all new residential property in the city.

Following consultation with an expert team, the council says the proposals look to underpin the city’s ambition to create sustainable and popular neighbourhoods where people want to live.

The quality guidance will demand design excellence in all new housing built in the city, set minimum space standards – and ensure high environmental standards.

The council says that Manchester is currently the fastest growing city in the UK – and it is important that high-quality housing is built to meet demand and support the continued growth and economic success of the city.

As a result, a Sounding Board of experts – a multidisciplinary team of architects and housing professionals – was brought together to develop the draft standards guide, providing expertise in planning, urban design, place making and architecture.

In 2015, Manchester adopted the London Housing Design Guide Space standards – which has informed building standards on an interim basis – but the Manchester guide will now provide clear direction to those involved in the development, construction and management of new homes in the city.

Following consultation, a final version of the Manchester Residential Quality Guidance will be brought back to the executive committee later in 2016.

Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, Councillor Bernard Priest, said:

“Our ambition is to deliver a minimum of 25,000 homes in the next ten years –and to ensure the longevity of this prodigious home building plan, we need to make sure of the excellence of every property built.

“High quality housing is essential to create attractive neighbourhoods and build communities where people will choose to live and start a family.

“Setting out an absolute minimum, high standard for new homes can help us achieve that.”

Chair of the Manchester Residential Quality Guidance Sounding Board –
architect Stephen Hodder of Hodder and Partners – added:

“It’s been a privilege to be invited to be part of the Sounding Board group, because I’m intensely aware of the importance of the role we have been given.

“We’re not just talking about the look and feel of new residential development – but a wholesale, city-wide approach to how people live, how they interact with the homes they live in and how those homes impact on the carbon reduction ambitions of the city.

“It’s an exciting prospect, but one that needs to be taken incredibly seriously.”

Duncan Lewis Housing Solicitors

Duncan Lewis housing solicitors can advise tenants in the private rental sector on a wide range of housing matters, including Landlord and Tenant disputes, tenancy agreements, lease extensions, disrepair and unlawful eviction.

There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide and our housing team can also advise on social housing and local authority housing matters, as well as offering conveyancing services to homebuyers and advising on debt management issues and mortgage repossession.

For expert legal advice on housing law, call Duncan Lewis housing solicitors on 0333 772 0409.