Housing activists, charities and members of the public meet tonight to discuss how to tackle the growing problems in the housing sector and to launch a new campaign, Housing Greater Manchester.
The campaign, organised by Greater Manchester Housing Action (GMHA), will harness the energy of the region’s upcoming mayoral elections to shift attention towards issues of housing and homelessness.
Workshops and street stalls have been organised across the ten boroughs Greater Manchester for the weeks up until the mayoral election. It will culminate in a special hustings discussing housing and homelessness at which all candidates will be invited.
Isaac Rose, a campaign coordinator at GMHA has said, “The aim of Housing Greater Manchester is to allow people to discuss their experiences of the housing crisis and to start working together to tackle a situation which should quite frankly shame the powers that be. People will have the opportunity to put their questions directly to the mayoral candidates in our housing and homeless hustings. If you would like us to run a workshop in your community or organisation, please get in touch!”
“Anyone living in Greater Manchester knows of the effects of the housing crisis: rising rents in the private sector, a lack of affordable housing and more people sleeping on streets than in over a decade.”
“This campaign is an opportunity for people in Greater Manchester to say that this is not acceptable. To say to council leaders and the incoming metro mayor that the people of Greater Manchester will not stand for this situation any longer.”
The first Greater Manchester metro mayor will be elected on 4th May. They will have powers over a £300m housing fund to encourage house-building and will have a say in planning in the region.
