Property giant Renaker has been granted planning permission for five new high-rise buildings in Manchester city centre, adding more than 2,300 flats in a move that could 'define what the city looks like for future generations'. The schemes, first approved in 2024, include no on-site affordable homes.
Details of the new towers
The largest tower, called Plot D, will be 71 storeys tall at 213 metres (698 ft) and will be based on Great Jackson Street near Deansgate. Four other buildings will be built on land known as Plot C and Plot E, with two at 47 storeys and two at 51 storeys.
The developments have reshaped Manchester's skyline in recent years, creating thousands of homes and bringing new people to the city, boosting businesses and keeping the city centre busy. Some say it is a sign of how Manchester is booming, but others have questioned how the city has gained more luxury apartments while 20,000 households face lengthy waits for more social housing.
Political criticism over affordable housing
In Manchester's council chamber, concerns are growing from opposition members about the future of the city. The council's Reform UK group said in a statement: "So this is Manchesterism – developers get richer, homes get more expensive and Mancunians only get more shiny glass to clean."
"One PM and a mayor later, the sleeping Renaker giant awakes to throw up another 2,300 luxury flats at Great Jackson Street. Zero affordable housing included despite the whole developer fortune being built on taxpayers money."
Manchester's Reform UK group is led by Councillor Sian Astley, of the Baguley ward. She was a recent hopeful in the Greater Manchester mayoral election against Bev Craig, and said if she had won one of her key goals was to 'open the books on contracts Andy Burnham awarded during his time as Labour's mayor'.
Section 106 agreement and clawback mechanism
A section 106 agreement made by Manchester City Council when approving the new Renaker towers means there is a so-called 'clawback' mechanism which could put money in the council's pocket, capped at £33m for the 71-storey tower, and £81m for the other four towers. The council expects to get some money back from the deal, but how much is still unknown at the moment.
When the schemes are at 75 per cent construction completion, a test is planned over how profitable the development could be. At that point it would become clearer if any of the section 106 money could be paid to the council. Part of that formula also depends on how the homes are sold. Properties for open market sale need to hit a 20 per cent profit from their initial outlay before the section 106 agreement kicks in, while for build-to-rent apartments the profitability margin is lower at 12pc.
Manchester's Reform UK group added in its statement: "A section 106 agreement suggests Renaker could deliver £114m across two schemes, The Green and The Lighthouse, for future affordable housing for Mancunians, but in reality never will, because that magical 20 per cent developer profit will not happen.
"Not when the developer and the builder are the same company working out their own figures, not when the council's own valuer Savills' figures show it's currently unattainable and not when it's up to MCC to prove the profit."
Renaker was approached for comment but has not yet responded.
Previous contributions and ongoing concerns
A look at previous Renaker planning applications shows the company has made contributions to the city, if not through on-site affordable homes. It includes contributions towards a primary school, Crown Street School, and NHS medical centre at Elizabeth Tower, as well as off-site affordable housing contributions which supported the restoration of listed buildings at Westwood Cottages in Moss Side and the Ancoats Dispensary in Ancoats and Beswick, which helped deliver affordable homes at the Manchester Living Rent.
But concerns remain about the lack of on-site affordable properties in Manchester's skyscrapers. Green Party Councillor Sarah Wakefield, from the Deansgate ward, said: "Manchester has a housing crisis, it's the biggest issue impacting our residents across the city. In Deansgate affordability, facilities for families and lack of climate adaptation in new towers built are concerns raised regularly.
"With over 15,000 families on Manchester's housing waiting list, many having to wait nearly a decade for a home, but the council has approved almost 2,300 flats and not one of them is affordable.
"Unfortunately, this isn't a one off, but a pattern when it comes to Renaker, which has now delivered thousands of homes across Manchester backed by GMCA [Greater Manchester Combined Authority] loans, without a single affordable one among them. You can't call housing a priority and allow developers to dictate Manchester's strategy on affordable housing."
The five new Renaker towers are not using any public loans from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), but previous developments have.
The firm has also been criticised by property rivals in Manchester over its affordable housing record. One of those critics is landowner Aubrey Weis. A Weis Group spokesman said: "The council continues to bend over backwards to ensure this developer makes no affordable housing contributions.
"Having now accepted that public realm costs should not be used to offset affordable housing obligations, there are serious questions about why this scheme is still making no contribution at all, and whether previous schemes should have been required to contribute more.
"Especially as some of those schemes were presented to the GMCA as highly profitable in order to access public money."
The Weis Group has previously taken the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to court over loans it gave to Renaker. One of the most well-known examples was a GMCA decision in 2024 to lend £140m towards so-called special purpose vehicles by Renaker founder Daren Whitaker. This decision has been at the heart of a legal battle between the GMCA and Mr Weis.
The Weis Group lodged a 'permission to appeal application' in August to the Supreme Court against the GMCA over these loans, following previous hearings in the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal. It could see the matter end up being heard in the UK's highest court.
A GMCA spokesperson said of the appeal: "Both the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal have heard this case, and on both occasions they found that these loans were given on commercial terms.
"We do not believe this appeal has any merit and have submitted our response to the Supreme Court."
A Weis Group spokesperson said: "We're hoping the Supreme Court will consider how the GMCA can lawfully lend taxpayer money to schemes considered unviable by their own developer without engaging the subsidy control act."
Council's response
A Manchester City Council spokesperson said: "Our planning committee resolved to grant the planning permission for these schemes two years ago to deliver nearly 2,400 homes, which represents a substantial investment from the developer in our city and will contribute to helping us meet our ambitious housing strategy targets in the coming years.
"And we have been able to secure a s106 agreement against these schemes that would see significant affordable housing investment across the city subject to further viability testing during construction.
"While Manchester has enjoyed major growth in the last decade, particularly in our city centre where the population now exceeds 100,000 people, development remains incredibly challenging and risky – and this is ever more so for development at this scale.
"Viability margins are incredibly tight in Manchester and that means slimmer profit margins for investors too. Manchester City Council also demand a lot from developers who invest in our city and to build here comes at a premium. We expect high-quality developments with exemplary public realm space, alongside other impactful contributions – and at a time when inflationary pressures in the construction sector means many schemes are unviable here and across the UK.
"The viability of all schemes and whether they can contribute to affordable housing is tested robustly through the planning process and is independently assessed. However, although s106 through the planning process is one route of building affordable housing, it is limited in the current economic climate, and it represents only a small portion of affordable housing built across the country. The most impactful way of building affordable housing is to build at scale using national funding to meet demand, while repurposing the brownfield land that is available to us.
"We've made a clear commitment to increasing the number of social rent, Council and genuinely affordable homes available to Manchester people and we've just seen another record year for affordable completions where half were for social rent. 2,500 affordable homes have been built since 2022 and with a strong pipeline of future projects, we are on track to meet and exceed our target to build at least 10,000 by 2032."
