Housing's coming home to Manchester!

Published by Phil Morgan on Monday, June 11th, 2012 at 13:01 pm

With several thousand CIH goers packing their bags to descend on Manchester for the new ‘Harrogate’ it’s perhaps fitting that someone who has lived in Manchester for the past 30 years makes a strong and impassioned welcome to our city.

Don’t get me wrong. I like Harrogate the place and on the sole occasion I spent time there not at a Conference of some time I enjoyed the spa atmosphere and walking through the parks. Life is gently suspended and Betty's a symbol of refined England. Harrogate is pretty and quaint.

Manchester isn’t like that and nor is social housing. Manchester, and the surrounding area, is full of life, opportunity and profound challenge. We have lots of social housing here and many Housing Associations and ALMO making a real difference to people’s lives.

There are innovative approaches locally in social housing and the unrivalled opportunity to either visit them or actually speak to the people make them work.

Culturally too the city that brought you the Stone Roses, Joy Division and the Smiths is cool. There are great places to visit and experience. Local Mancunian humour. Perhaps even the occasional beer!

I’ve spent the last thirteen Junes at the CIH Conference in Harrogate and regard it as an unrivalled opportunity to catch up with friends and spot interesting developments in housing. I fully expect to continue to do this whether the Conference is in Harrogate or Manchester.

However there are things I won’t miss about Harrogate such as the hassle trying to get a hotel or B&B, the struggle to find a half way decent place to eat and I will enjoy hopping on the last tram home rather than trying to get a taxi to some obscure hotel.

But my feeling is that housing’s coming home to Manchester.