A recent PlaceNorthWest.co.uk article by Rebecca Fieldhouse of Iceni Projects makes the case for developing family homes in Manchester city centre for workers employed in the city’s offices.
Most people employed in office space in Manchester live outside of the city centre and commute to work, but with traffic congestion frequent and train travel fees increasing in 2018, there is a growing trend for workers to want to live in the city centre so that they can walk or cycle to their office.
Fieldhouse quoted research by the Centre for Cities that found almost half of the total population of cities is aged between 20 to 29. The reason for this young demographic is that there are not many city centre apartments suitable for families. As people get older and start families, they tend to move out of Manchester centre for their housing needs.
Fieldhouse argues that developers need to build more homes and apartments suitable for families in the city centre so that people need not move from the city when they start a family. She believes that families are good for the city, bringing vibrancy and creating balanced communities.
Manchester office space is in high demand, but as other cities in the North of England compete with Manchester, landlords in the city are facing a need to offer incentives. Having mixed types of residential property near an office could attract both tenants and workers, thus ensuring a steady flow of tenants in Manchester
