Greater Manchester agreement with the National Housing Bank opens the way to £500 million for homes and regeneration
The framework agreement, the first of its kind in England, allows Greater Manchester projects to seek up to £500 million alongside the city region's Good Growth Fund, with each scheme still subject to the Bank's due diligence and approval.
Greater Manchester has signed a framework agreement with the National Housing Bank that could unlock up to £500 million of investment for new homes and mixed use regeneration projects across the city region. The Bank is the public financial institution owned by Homes England, the Government's housing and regeneration agency, and the agreement announced on 6 November is described as the first of its kind in England.
The money would sit alongside the Greater Manchester Good Growth Fund, which the city region launched a year ago. Nothing is allocated automatically: to be considered for funding, a project must align with the Bank's mandate, and each proposed investment remains subject to the Bank's standard due diligence, governance and approval processes.
The deal builds on an existing working relationship between the city region and Homes England. Greater Manchester was previously the first combined authority to sign a Strategic Place Partnership with the agency, and the two have already collaborated on large schemes including Victoria North and the Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation area.
The £500 million is a door opened, not a cheque written: every scheme still has to pass the Bank's own due diligence before it sees a pound.British Journal analysis
The Good Growth Fund alongside which the Bank's money would be invested is already committing substantial sums. Its first wave of £400 million, approved in late 2025, covers 17 priority projects, among them town centre regeneration schemes, and is expected to deliver nearly 3,000 new homes, more than 22,000 jobs and 2 million square feet of employment space, according to the Combined Authority.
Bev Craig, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, said the fund existed to spread the city region's growth more evenly. “We set up the Good Growth Fund to spread that growth to all of our places, so that no community is left behind,” she said. Simon Century, the chief executive of the National Housing Bank, said: “This agreement is supported by national and local expertise, backed with purpose-driven finance, and powered by regionally led ambition.”
Paul Dennett, the Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester and City Mayor of Salford, pointed to the housing shortage as the problem the arrangement is meant to answer. “By using public investment, we’re unlocking complex sites so that Greater Manchester can build more affordable, energy-efficient and accessible homes, quicker,” he said.
The National Housing Bank describes its own role as delivering purpose-led finance for housing delivery, breaking down barriers to investment at scale and accelerating the delivery and regeneration of places across England. For Greater Manchester, the test of the framework will be how quickly the first schemes clear the Bank's approval process and turn an agreed ceiling of £500 million into homes under construction.
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