Work is now underway to transform disused brownfield land in Moston into new affordable and sustainable homes as part of Manchester City Council’s Project 500 initiative.
John Southworth is developing nine properties on Kenyon Lane, consisting of two and three-bedroom homes in partnership with local housing provider Jigsaw Homes Group, which will manage the homes.
Project 500 aims to build at least 500 affordable homes, and more in future, and is part of a wider housing strategy developed in collaboration with the Manchester Housing Providers Partnership (MHPP). The goal is to increase the number of affordable homes being built in the city, using publicly owned brownfield land, to help meet demand for quality affordable homes.
Jigsaw Homes will deliver three Project 500 schemes, including this one in Moston, allocated by Manchester City Council, with rents capped at the Manchester Living Rent.*
The development will also support sustainable living, with the homes constructed of timber frame and all with air source heat pumps and solar PV panels.
The £2.4 million development which has received grant funding from Homes England and Brownfield Land Release funding (BLRF) from the city council is expected to be completed in February 2026.
Garnet Fazackerley, Operations Director of Development at Jigsaw Homes Group said: “We have already delivered hundreds of much-needed homes to help meet local housing need in and around Manchester. This is our first of three developments to start on site as part of Project 500 and we are proud to be delivering more affordable and sustainable housing here, working with our partners John Southworth, Manchester City Council and Homes England.”
Jacqueline Brown, Business Director for John Southworth said: “This is our seventh Project 500 site resulting in a total of 96 new affordable homes. It’s been a great team effort to get this scheme on site and we are excited to be working with Jigsaw Homes Group, which shares our vision to construct high quality, sustainable, affordable new homes.”
Cllr Gavin White, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development, said: “We know there is high demand for quality affordable homes across Manchester and Project 500 is an innovative way of building out smaller, harder to develop sites to deliver the homes our residents need. This initiative can only work because we have brilliant partnerships with Manchester’s housing providers that can deliver great housing, using Council-owned land, that our residents can afford.”
Architects for the scheme are BTP Architects and engineers are AJP Engineers. Whiteley Eaves are acting as Employers Agent and Principal Designer.
*The Manchester Living Rent is a level of rent capped at the Local Housing Allowance level (LHA) which means this is a level of rent that is affordable for people on housing benefit.
