A key theme and discussion point around the Northern Powerhouse agenda at MIPIM this year has been the need to deliver the range and quality of residential development and neighbourhoods that will increasingly retain graduates and talent in the city and support economic growth. With this in mind, I'm looking forward to spending the rest of my time at MIPIM hearing views on Manchester's forthcoming adoption of quality guidance for residential development from as wide a range of people as possible.

In March 2015, Manchester adopted the London standards on an interim basis, as it prepared to progress its own city-specific guidelines. This was motivated by the fact that much Manchester housing was still failing to achieve the standards being delivered elsewhere.

Just over a year later, there has been a visibly positive shift in terms of the quality of residential schemes coming forward and the generosity of space standards.

As housing has already been high on the agenda for Manchester at MIPIM, it will be interesting to see how the guidance will be used to progress the delivery of further quality developments. With a requirement for at least 25,000 new homes over the next 10 years, the guidance is more essential to sustaining the economic and population growth forecast for Manchester than ever.

Over the next 10 years, new residential development will continue to be focused in the city centre. There is an upward trend, with Deloitte's annual Crane Survey anticipating just under 3,000 units to be delivered in the city centre by Q4 2017, with just under 2,200 of these to be completed by the end of Q4 2016: 400 above the pre-recession average of about 1,800. 

Whilst there is an identified need to move quickly and deliver new homes, there is no place for quick fix solutions. Maintaining the balance between wages and housing costs will be a key determining factor in the long term success of Manchester. It is also fundamentally important that that well designed, energy efficient, sustainable and affordable new housing developments can function as high quality vibrant neighbourhoods with a real sense of community. The approach needs to be a sustainable and deliver a long lasting, positive legacy.

Finally, it is essential that any guidance reflects the role that new housing must play in limiting the effects of climate change. We are already seeing the effects of greater levels of carbon in the atmosphere are likely to result in more extreme seasonal variations and weather events. Driving a low carbon future for Manchester is essential for improving prosperity and quality of life, and we will simply fail if we don't tackle it. 

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