Our approach is rooted in prevention, partnership, and neighbourhood working. Through the Team Bury model we will bring housing, health, care, and community services together to provide joined-up, early support that helps residents stay independent and connected.

We will align housing growth with infrastructure, services, and green space, ensuring neighbourhoods are well-connected, resilient, and support active lifestyles. Alongside this, we will improve the quality and energy efficiency of homes to deliver warmer, more affordable living. Through regeneration and strong partnerships, we will create places that reduce inequalities and where people feel safe, supported and proud to live.

Healthy, Inclusive, and Connected Neighbourhoods

Our Ambition

Bury's Housing Strategy recognises that good housing and strong neighbourhoods are fundamental to improving health, wellbeing and life chances. Our ambition is to create places where people can live healthy, independent, and connected lives, supported by high-quality homes, strong communities, and access to the services they need. Housing will play a central role in addressing inequalities and supporting better outcomes across the borough.

A Preventative, Neighbourhood-Based Approach

Our approach is rooted in partnership and prevention. Through the Let's Do It! strategy and the Team Bury model, we will bring together housing, health, social care, and community services to deliver joined-up support. The neighbourhood model enables services to be coordinated locally through multidisciplinary teams, ensuring residents receive timely, accessible support closer to home. Initiatives such as Live Well in Bury will continue to provide early help, addressing wider determinants of health such as social isolation, poverty, and poor housing before issues escalate.

Targeting Support and Building Resilient Communities

We will use data and local intelligence, including the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and neighbourhood-level insight, to target support where it is most needed. Community hubs, libraries, and local organisations will play a key role in connecting residents to services and strengthening community resilience. We will also support residents with more complex needs through integrated approaches such as Changing Futures, and improve economic resilience through programmes like WorkWell, helping people remain in or return to employment. Together, this approach will create healthier, more inclusive and resilient neighbourhoods across Bury.

Changing Futures Programme

Bury is part of the Changing Futures programme, a Greater Manchester initiative that supports people experiencing multiple disadvantage, including homelessness, mental ill health, and substance misuse. The programme focuses on improving coordination between services and delivering more person-centred support.

In practice, this involves services working together across housing, health, social care, and the voluntary sector to support individuals with complex needs. The aim is to reduce fragmentation between services and improve outcomes for people who may otherwise experience repeated contact with crisis services.

Bringing Long-Term Empty Homes Back into Use

There are approximately 1,600 long-term privately owned empty properties (empty for 6 months or more) in Bury.

The council has committed £1.6m of Section 106 affordable housing funding to purchase and refurbish long-term empty homes for affordable housing and has successfully used some of this funding to bring properties back into use.

Long-term empty homes represent both a challenge and an opportunity for Bury. These homes are a wasted resource at a time of growing housing need, contributing to neighbourhood decline, anti-social behaviour, and lost opportunities to support residents in need of housing.

While empty homes alone will not solve housing shortages, they can play an important role in increasing supply, reducing pressure on temporary accommodation and improving neighbourhood quality. We will build on the existing Empty Property Strategy by strengthening prevention, intervention, and enforcement activity. This includes earlier engagement with property owners to prevent homes becoming long-term empty, alongside targeted action to bring properties vacant for longer periods back into use. At the same time, we will prioritise tackling the negative impact of empty homes on communities, improving the appearance, safety, and vitality of neighbourhoods.

A key priority is moving from a largely reactive approach to a more proactive model. Increased capacity, supported by Greater Manchester Combined Authority funding, will enable the council to better identify, prioritise, and intervene in empty homes cases, focusing on those with the greatest potential to deliver housing outcomes or causing the most harm to communities.

We will also continue to expand practical delivery solutions. The Lease and Repair Scheme is a key example, working with private owners to bring properties back into use by offering guaranteed rental income, support with repairs and full management of the property. Alongside this, we will make use of a range of tools, including loans, enforcement powers and acquisitions to unlock empty homes and return them to productive use.

The property had remained vacant following probate after the owner passed away. As an ex-council home in an area of existing managed stock, it was a strong strategic acquisition. The council acquired it using S106 commuted sums and undertook a full refurbishment to bring it up to lettable standard.

 

Designing Healthy, Connected Communities

Bury's Housing Strategy will build on the strong policy foundation set by the emerging Local Plan, ensuring that housing delivery contributes to healthier, more inclusive, and well-connected communities by focusing on the quality of place and how homes, infrastructure, services, and the wider environment work together to support wellbeing and reduce inequalities.

New housing development will be expected to contribute positively to community life, supporting access to services, social inclusion, and improved health outcomes. We will ensure that growth is aligned with the infrastructure needed to support it, including health, education, and community facilities, so that both new and existing communities can thrive. This will be achieved through close partnership working and effective use of planning mechanisms to secure appropriate contributions from development.

Our approach ensures housing plays a central role in creating places that are not only well-designed, but also support healthier, more connected, and resilient communities across Bury.

Accelerating the Transition to Low-Carbon Homes

70% of homes currently below Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C.

2038 carbon-neutral target for Greater Manchester.

Retrofit GM and Delivery

Bury is committed to playing its full role in Greater Manchester's ambition to become carbon neutral by 2038. The borough is aligning with the Retrofit GM programme to deliver large-scale retrofit, accelerating improvements to existing homes including insulation, low-carbon heating, and renewable energy, while ensuring new development meets higher energy standards from the outset.

Climate Action and Innovation

Bury's updated Climate Action Plan prioritises targeted action including securing external funding, improving housing stock data, and scaling up retrofit across both social and private sectors. The council is also progressing plans for a district heat network in Bury Town Centre to support both existing buildings and new development through low-carbon, efficient heating systems.

Warm Homes Local Grant

Bury is using the Warm Homes Local Grant to deliver targeted, area-based retrofit to some of the borough's least energy-efficient homes, focusing on low-income households most at risk of fuel poverty. By working in partnership with Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the council is bringing significant external investment into the borough to improve insulation, install low-carbon heating and reduce energy costs for residents.

The approach is deliberately neighbourhood-focused, starting in areas with older, lower-performing housing stock to maximise impact at scale. Alongside physical improvements, local engagement will ensure residents understand and benefit from the changes, helping to build confidence in retrofit.

The Home Improvement Team has worked in partnership with Greater Manchester Combined Authority to promote the Greater Manchester Retrofit Portal, an online platform providing residents with impartial advice on home energy efficiency improvements, available support, and access to accredited installers. This has delivered 302 energy efficiency retrofit installs via the Energy Company Obligation 4 and Local Authority Flexibility attracting £1,678,709 investment into the borough. This has resulted in average annual energy bill savings of £595.67 and saved 942.50 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The emerging Local Plan as well as the Places for Everyone Joint Plan include measures that will support ambitions for Greater Manchester to be carbon neutral by 2038 and for all new development to be zero net carbon in operation by 2028.

Leading the Way: Retrofit and Net Zero in Council Housing

Bury Council is implementing a programme of housing retrofit and decarbonisation to improve the energy efficiency of its housing stock and support the borough's wider ambition to become carbon neutral by 2038.

Delivering a Whole-House Approach to Retrofit

Bury Council is adopting a whole-house retrofit approach, moving beyond Energy Performance Certificate ratings to improve performance, comfort, and health. A fabric-first strategy, focusing on insulation, windows, and building performance reduces energy demand, lowers bills, and prepares homes for low-carbon heating such as heat pumps. To prevent condensation, damp, and mould as homes become more airtight, ventilation improvements are included, such as enhanced extract and passive or mechanical systems, ensuring good air quality and healthy living conditions.

Scaling Up Delivery and Investment

The council is accelerating retrofit delivery by aligning programmes with national funding and its own capital investment plans. Retrofit measures are increasingly integrated into planned maintenance and improvement works, ensuring better value for money and reduced disruption for tenants. Initiatives such as the Lease and Repair Scheme, Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund projects, and neighbourhood-level schemes like Stanley Close demonstrate retrofit in practice. Alongside this, the council is investing in renewable energy including solar photovoltaic (PV) panels to support the transition to low-carbon homes.

Building a Data-Led, Long-Term Retrofit Programme

To support long-term delivery, Bury is strengthening its evidence base and adopting national standards such as PAS 2035 (retrofit standard). Through stock condition surveys and retrofit assessments, the council is developing a clearer understanding of its housing stock and future investment needs. Improving data systems and exploring new platforms will enable a more strategic, targeted approach to decarbonisation, helping prioritise investment and respond quickly to funding opportunities, supporting the development of a long-term pipeline to meet the 2038 carbon-neutral ambition.

In Bury, all new developments will be net zero carbon in operation by 2028