New Manchester leader makes housing top priority

Manchester's new council leader has said delivering more homes is an "absolute priority" as he set out his ambitions for the city.

Garry Bridges told BBC Radio Manchester's Joe McGrath Breakfast Show that high-rise developments had a place in Manchester's housing mix, but were not affordable to everyone.

The council aims to help deliver 36,000 homes by 2032, including at least 10,000 social, council or genuinely affordable homes. The council said almost a quarter of the affordable homes target had already been met.

Bridges also described rough sleeping as a "complete failure of the state and of society", with the council expecting about £2m through the government's £442m Rough Sleeping Programme.

Bridges, who was formally appointed council leader last week after succeeding Bev Craig, said getting the job had taken "a good few days to sink in".

He described it as an "amazing honour" and said becoming leader was not something he had imagined when he first became involved in politics.

The Old Moat councillor, first elected to the south Manchester ward in 2015, previously served as deputy leader and had been acting as interim leader since Craig became Greater Manchester mayor.

Bridges said a pipeline of proposed housing schemes across Manchester would be set out in the coming months.

The council said it would aim for 60% of new homes funded through Homes England's Affordable Homes Programme to be for social rent, although that proportion would not necessarily apply across the full 10,000 home target.

Bridges said some sites would be harder to develop because they could require remediation or more complicated planning applications.

"We need these homes and we need to get cracking on them," he said.

Asked about high-rise towers, Bridges said they should be "part of a much bigger mix" alongside homes affordable to people on lower wages.

"Like anyone, you look at them and you think, gosh, I wouldn't be able to afford to live there," he said.

A report found Manchester is on track to become the fourth "tallest city" in Europe by 2030.

Bridges described rough sleeping as a "complete failure of the state and of society" and said beds alone were not enough.

He said people could need months or years of support to leave the streets permanently.

The government's £442m Rough Sleeping Programme runs for three years, with Manchester City Council expecting about £2m.

On the restoration of Manchester Town Hall, Bridges said people were "absolutely desperate" for it to reopen.

The Grade I-listed building, closed for refurbishment in 2018, was originally expected to reopen in 2024, with the project budgeted at £330m.

Councillors approved another £95m in December 2025, taking the expected cost to almost £525m, with completion now scheduled for spring 2027.

Bridges said the restored building would include a visitor experience and host public events rather than operating principally as an office as it had before.

Bridges said Manchester was "confident and hopeful" of hosting the G20 summit in 2027, adding that there would be more news "very soon".

The UK is confirmed as the host of the summit, but Manchester has not been formally announced as the venue.

Bridges takes charge after Labour lost seats to the Greens and Reform UK in May, with a by-election in Craig's former Burnage ward due on 10 September.

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