A leading regeneration figure has unveiled an ambitious vision to breathe new life into Greater Manchester's 'overlooked and under invested' town centres through high-quality residential development. Tim Heatley, co-founder of the property firm Capital & Centric, argues there is a powerful, unmet demand for suburban living across the region's boroughs.
The Farnworth Green Blueprint
Pointing to his company's recently completed Farnworth Green development as a successful template, Heatley described how the 97-home town centre scheme is now fully let. The project, finished earlier this year, was highlighted as a model example at the official launch of the new Greater Manchester Strategy. It was praised for its 'homes on the high street' approach, seen as a viable future for the region's district centres.
"Our gut feeling is we can all see the city centre of Manchester growing at a rapid rate of knots," Heatley said. "The height and scale of the towers is like a visual dam for the amount of people moving into the place." He contends that many city-centre residents ultimately desire suburban life for better access to schools, healthcare, green spaces, and more affordable accommodation.
A £860 Million Partnership for Change
This vision is now backed by substantial financial firepower. Capital & Centric has recently signed a partnership with Homes England to invest £860 million into similar regeneration projects. This investment is projected to deliver approximately 2,500 new homes over the next decade in areas currently lacking high-quality rental options.
"In Farnworth they haven't had access to high quality homes at a rent that's affordable," Heatley explained. "I'm not saying it's cheap, I'm saying that it's a rent that can be afforded if you're working." He emphasised that Farnworth Green attracts a mix of locals, people moving out from Manchester, and even new arrivals to the UK, helping to regenerate towns "from the inside out."
Targeting the 'Less Fashionable' Boroughs
Heatley identified specific Greater Manchester boroughs where his company is actively seeking investment opportunities, naming Tameside, Rochdale and Bury. However, he stressed that "every one of the 10 GM boroughs has got huge areas that would benefit from this approach."
The future, according to Heatley, lies in people living in the "less fashionable, the less thought of, the more overlooked parts of the region." Key to this is creating public realm, as demonstrated at Farnworth Green where private land was converted into a public square. "These areas now need to see the benefit of the growth of the city centre," he stated, arguing that successful towns need both new residents and new customers to thrive.
