Mayor eyes derelict public land for council housing

Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig has appealed to public sector bodies to "offer up" derelict land so tens of thousands of council houses can be built.

The new mayor is aiming to build 10,000 "genuinely affordable" homes in the city region by May 2028, part of a longer-term plan to create 50,000 council and social houses.

A "public sector land bank" is being created to find brownfield sites that will be given priority for building.

The Home Builders Federation said the plan was welcome but that "similar ambitions had floundered" in the past.

The mayor said she wanted Greater Manchester to "lead the way in building a new generation" of council and social homes.

"If you're sitting on a small piece of land that's surplus to requirement, then offer it into the pot and let's get building," Craig said.

She said the target of 10,000 houses by 2028 was "ambitious", which was why she was "issuing a call to action" for public sector organisations.

"I want to have a clear plan and I want us to get building", she said.

"There are too many people waiting for a good home... too many people living in temporary accommodation", she added.

She said council housing was a "safety net" and a "foundation for a good life".

The mayor said she would use government grants towards paying for the homes.

In November 2025, Greater Manchester was given £1.8bn as part of the government's 10-year £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme.

The plans were unveiled on a former car park in Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, where 33 social homes have just been completed.

Alan Hopwood, leader of Reform UK in Tameside, welcomed moves to build more social housing but had questions over how they would be paid for.

"Government funding still comes from us, the taxpayers," he said.

"We need to make sure working people benefit from this directly, rather than multi-billion pound development companies."

The Home Builders Federation said using public land to build affordable homes would be "a very welcome intervention" by the mayor.

James Stevens from the Federation said: "Too often similar ambitions have floundered... owing to the reluctance of public bodies to sell the land to other public agencies at a price that would enable the homes to be built economically.

"Increasing the construction of affordable homes, alongside private homes, would provide significant social and economic benefits to Manchester, providing desperately needed homes, creating jobs and attracting growth to the region."

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