Three weeks have passed since the Budget and, although I worry about whether any of the significant changes will come into action, I am heartened by one particular initiative.

The news of a specific and smaller housing deal with Oxfordshire as part of the wider vision for the Oxford – Cambridge Corridor, may be a sign that the Government is listening. In short, this deal should see Oxfordshire building 100,000 homes by 2031, with the Government providing a package of support – including £30m a year in infrastructure funding for the first five years. This seems to me to be a mutually beneficial initiative, and now there is talk of similar deals being extended to other areas, including Greater Manchester.

This news comes during a crucial time for housing in Greater Manchester, with the second draft of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) set to be published in June 2018. The first draft of the GMSF was widely rejected, largely because there was no appetite for such a significant release of Green Belt land. Since then we have heard repeated promises of a “radical rewrite” from Mayor Andy Burnham.

Ultimately, any discussion about a housing deal for Greater Manchester and the rewrite of the GMSF, should consider what exactly future house buyers are looking for as an outcome.

A brief look into the trends of living shows us that there is a change of direction in tomorrow’s generation of homebuyers, who have largely been behind the exponential population growth of our cities, including Manchester. Between 2001 and 2011 the population of large city centres has more than doubled, with the population of those aged 20-29 having tripled during the same period. Urban housing is popular among these groups, who crave to be close to their employment and enjoy the local amenities on offer. Ensuring that there is a suitable offer of family housing, within these urban spaces will be crucial to keeping these same groups of people within Greater Manchester – something that Iceni’s own Rebecca Fieldhouse talks more extensively about here in a piece for Place North West.

Recently, Mayor Burnham unveiled his Town Centre scheme, under which each Greater Manchester Borough will be able to nominate a town with the potential to be regenerated into urban housing – which is a positive step in the right direction.

However, for any housing deal for Greater Manchester to be successful it must be strategic enough to take into account such a seismic shift in trends and demand, and savvy enough to use central Government resources wisely. The Government’s approach to achieving its ambitions for the Oxford-Cambridge Corridor demonstrates that things are changing, now it’s time for Greater Manchester get in on the action.