Tomorrow, Tuesday 28th June, sees the start of the three day Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) 2016 Conference at Central Manchester Convention Complex (GMex) and also the start of three days of protests.
"This event truly is a forum for professionals from all corners of housing to come together and talk about big issues across the sector, and for us, as an industry, to be part of the solution" says Terrie Alafat, CIH chief executive "We'll be asking big questions about how we can build the houses this country needs to increase supply across all tenures..."
There's a rather different take on proceedings from Tom Barlow of Greater Manchester Housing Action, who states "Greater Manchester is being visited by one of the greatest collection of crooks and thieves in Europe, and we have an opportunity to show them they're not welcome.
"Immigrants often get the blame for the lack of affordable housing but in reality people at this Conference are the reason why we can't house ourselves properly in Greater Manchester" he adds.
Greater Manchester Housing Action, a coalition of campaign groups, has organised a protest outside the Conference tomorrow evening, Tuesday 28th June, between 5pm and 6:30pm, calling for `decent, affordable housing', and, on Wednesday 29th June, has a Our Homes, Your Assets panel discussion with its own range of housing experts, activists and journalists at 6pm, at Partisan, Mount Street.
Meanwhile, the Northern Housing Action Network is mounting a three day Occupy The Chartered Institute of Housing Conference demo outside the venue featuring a tent city and street kitchen for the city's homeless...
"The Government have just passed the Housing Bill which will inevitably see the end of council housing and when that's amalgamated with the welfare reform, with policies such as Universal Credit, we're going to see an epidemic in homelessness" it states
"The country's decision makers will be in attendance, as will the mainstream media...we want to bring every single housing/homelessness campaign to their doorstep to raise awareness and take peaceful direct action against the legislation that's increasing the number of homeless people" it adds "We can't take this anymore."
Amongst the sponsors of the Conference are Keepmoat, making massive profits out its Whit Lane development in Salford (see here), and Legal and General, central to the English Cities Fund, which is currently building unaffordable housing around Chapel Street, while in bed with Peel Holdings at MediaCityUK building more unaffordable housing (see here). Also speaking at the Conference is Tom Bloxham of Urban Splash, currently flogging houses costing over £300,000 in its new Irwell Riverside development (see here).
The Salford Star estimates that the city has lost around £30million over the past few years through developers not paying planning fees and Section 106 payments due to `viability' issues; while well over one thousand affordable properties have been lost through similar evasions.* As far as the Star can tell, there's not one single item on the programme of the Conference even discussing these issues...
Occupy The Chartered Institute of Housing Conference Tuesday 28th June to Thursday 30th June outside Manchester Central Convention Complex (GMex) for further information see the Facebook page click here
Greater Manchester Housing Action: Our Homes Your Assets protest Tuesday 28th June Windmill Street, outside Manchester Central Convention Complex (GMex), M2 3DB for further information see the Facebook page click here.
Greater Manchester Housing Action: Our Homes Your Assets Panel Discussion Wednesday 29th June 6pm-8:30pm Partisan 3Space, London Scottish House, 24 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 3DB for further information see the Facebook page click here
*For the full Salford Star research see the electronic print issue 10 (covers 2015) click here. For subsequent articles click here and click here
See also previous Salford Star article Ordsall Boom click here
For further details of the Conference which also features Howard Bernstein and Owen Jones - see here
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