The Committee was addressed by Councillors Eddy Newman and Astrid Johnson, ward members for Woodhouse Park, and Councillor Tommy Judge, ward member for Sharston. They raised issues including the history of Wythenshawe Civic Centre, their hopes for its regeneration, and asked questions regarding housing, active travel, and consultation processes.

The key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussion on Wythenshawe town centre included:

·         Requesting an update on progress with Levelling Up Funding (LUF), and when a final decision on this was expected;

·         How much of the LUF bid was capital funding and how much was revenue funding;

·         Whether discussions had taken place with developers to identify alternative funding mechanisms should the LUF bid be unsuccessful;

·         Housing plans for the area, what constituted ‘mixed tenure’ and whether this will include social housing;

·         Acknowledging the challenges of a ‘night-time economy’ and how these issues would be addressed;

·         Whether sufficient education provisions were available to support increased housing development;

·         Opportunities to incorporate nature-based solutions and meet zero carbon targets through regeneration schemes;

·         The need for sufficiently-powered Electrical Vehicle charging points, and the percentage of provisions within the scheme;

·         The impact of inflation in the construction industry on the scheme’s budget; and

·         The need to ensure an appropriate and socially-beneficial retail offer.

The Executive Member for Housing and Development reiterated the committee’s comments on the importance of infrastructure and highlighted the reopening of Newall Green High School which would help to provide school places in Wythenshawe.

The Executive Member also acknowledged the opportunity to establish a ‘night-time economy’ in Wythenshawe and explained that safety could be promoted and managed through planning and licensing regulations.

The Strategic Director of Growth and Development explained that the Council was identifying various workstreams to ensure that sustainability and biodiversity are factored into the new proposals for Wythenshawe town centre.

The Director of Development commented that the second round of Levelling Up funding was currently underway and a decision on whether this will be awarded to the Council was expected by the end of 2022. Some queries from central government had been received in respect of the Council’s bid, which the Director of Development advised was a good sign.

In response to a query regarding how much of the LUF bid was capital funding and how much was revenue funding, the figures were not available to share at the meeting but assurances were provided that a robust financial management plan was in place to cover Council fees, operational costs and the necessary external resources.

The Executive Member for Environment and Transport advised the committee, in response to a query around Electrical Vehicle charging points, that a report on the Council’s Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy was due to be considered by the Environment and Climate Change Scrutiny Committee and the Executive in December 2022.

Assurances were provided that a minimum of 20% of the 1500 homes planned to be built in Wythenshawe would be affordable, as per the Council’s policy, and the Executive Member for Housing and Development expressed hope that this figure would increase. Discussions with partners around affordable housing were underway and members were advised that there was  16,000 council and social rent homes in Wythenshawe already and that housing providers can access various funding schemes such as Homes England funding and brownfield land funding to develop affordable rent, social rent and shared ownership homes.

Private market sale and private rent homes would also be available to ensure mixed tenure within the town centre.

The Director of Development provided assurances that the Council was conscious of cost inflation when creating the LUF bid and that this included provisions for inflation, optimism bias and contingencies with officers confident that the budget would allow delivery of the bid’s aspirations.

Assurances were also provided that, because the Council would be the landlord of retail spaces, it would have the power and oversight to prohibit unsavoury businesses operating within the shopping centre.