Developer of Manchester luxury flats gets £27m of taxpayers’ money but does not say why it needs it

A developer has been handed back £27m of taxpayers’ money it borrowed to build luxury flats in Manchester city centre – despite refusing to say why it needs the cash.

The Manchester New Square development in Whitworth Street, which was completed last year, benefited from a £51m publicly funded loan in 2017.

Last month, the developer behind the scheme of 351 apartments had its request to refinance some of that loan approved by local authority leaders.

But when asked why the completed scheme needed the money, developer Urban&Civic said it could not comment on ‘confidential matters’.

What money has the local authority given to developers?

The Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund helps kick-start developments, spending the surplus income generated on other schemes. However, the loans are often given to schemes with no affordable housing.

Last month, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) approved four such loans while the value of another already approved loan was increased.

AH2 Gee Cross Ltd will receive £3.402m from the fund for a development on brownfield land in Hyde featuring 20 houses, none of which will be affordable. Another £3.314m loan was approved for the development of 44 houses on the site of the old Moor Lane bus station in Bolton town centre approved last year. Half of these homes would be available as part of a shared ownership scheme, with a further 60 affordable homes planned on the unused brownfield site.

The GMCA also approved an £11.289m loan for Blueoaks Estates which is building 110 apartments at Alexander House in Old Trafford last month. Since then, an increase in the value of the loan to £11.685m has been agreed with the developer, which will not be a contribution towards affordable housing.

The GMCA met on Friday (28 October) to approve another loan from the same fund for 311 new-build houses at Mill Vale in Middleton worth £12.581m. Kellen Homes was granted planning permission for the scheme in July 2022. The developer will also benefit from a £3.3m Brownfield Housing Fund grant, according to a report published ahead of the GMCA meeting later this week.

It says: “The loan will support the delivery of 167 houses for open-market sale on a brownfield site and unlock the development of a further 45 houses for affordable rent and shared ownership and 99 houses for private rented use across the wider site.”

A Section 106 contribution of £1.040m towards local education provision, outdoor sports facilities and biodiversity improvement will also be made.