Housing developments in Salford reached their highest levels in over 16 years between 2018 and 2019, according to council figures.
A total of 3,344 residential property completions were recorded – more than double the amount in 2017 – 2018. Of that total, 575 were houses or bungalows, with Pendlebury seeing more developments of this kind than anywhere else in Salford – 120, up from just 40 the year prior.
But apartments were by far the most common development, with a total of 2,769 new apartment properties completed.
The majority of these – a huge 1,995 – were built in Ordsall, marking the third year in a row in which the area took in almost all of Salford’s apartment developments.
The majority of houses built were 3-bed, while the most popular apartment size was 2-bed.
But the majority of these developments did not encroach on natural green spaces – identified by the council’s planning committee as ‘greenfield sites’. Just 8% of the properties were built on greenfield sites, with the remaining 92% constructed in brownfield areas – or plots of land that have previously been built on before, such as for industry.
City Mayor Paul Dennett said: “There is a national housing shortage and particularly a lack of affordable housing and Salford City Council is working hard to address both those issues.
“The council published its Housing and Economic Land Availability assessment in September 2019 which estimates that between 2019 and 2024 around 16,000 new homes will be completed across the city.
This made up of 13,900 apartments centred around Greengate, Chapel Street and Salford Quays and 2,100 houses mainly in Salford west and will be a mix of homes for ownership, private rent and affordable housing.
“Later this year we will also begin building the first council houses in a decade after successfully lobbying the government to change its policy and release funding.
“We have changed our planning rules to require developers to provide more affordable housing as part of their schemes and are working with housing association partners to deliver more homes for rent and shared ownership. We have 1,150 affordable homes in the pipeline and will be delivering around 370 affordable homes a year which is 100 a year more than previously.”
Picture courtesy of Tom Bullock, with thanks.
