Dear Anna Meylakh,

The fire at Hotspur Press should not damage Manchester further than it already has. We are calling on you to do right by Manchester. Your company said that it was planning on saving Hotspur Mill. We want you to save Hotspur Mill by providing homes for the people who need them. Your website states that you understand the different challenges that ‘creat[e] pressures in our cities and influenc[e] the demands of our tenants’. You ‘not only design, but also curate environments that enable diverse communities to flourish, resulting in more inclusive and accessible places to live, work, learn and connect.’

Time and time again we’ve seen developers make commitments on the amount of affordable housing they are willing to commit but time and time again they renege. This fire must not impact the rights of the people in Manchester to live in decent, affordable and safe housing. To do right by the community we are calling on you to not only make an iron clad commitment to the current levels of section 106 contributions you have committed to Manchester city council but to increase it to the equivalent of 30% social housing for the block you are building. We are happy to meet to discuss this.

ACORN Manchester