“When the time comes for action” the priority should not be large hotels and super cinemas but “homes for the people”. These are not the words of a current Guardian columnist discussing a post-lockdown economic recovery, but those of Canon Peter Green in 1944. Headlined “Homes for the people”, his plea to prioritise housing in the government’s postwar recovery plans appeared in the Manchester Guardian under the byline Artifex.
Now, Green’s legacy will be Salford’s first affordable housing development in decades, which has been named after his pseudonym. The new high-rise Artifex development in Trinity will have more than 100 affordable homes and is due to be completed by spring.
The 11-storey building will be near St Philip’s church, where Green served as a rector. Writing under his pseudonym during the first world war and until the 1950s, Green used his weekly column to speak out against war, injustice and racism.
Sue Sutton, the chief executive at Salix Homes, said the Artifex development would bring 108 desperately needed affordable homes for people in Salford. The area is the 18th most-deprived local authority in England and its mayor, Paul Dennett, is keen to use housing to create a more equal society.
“We wanted to pay our own tribute to this much-respected Salford son whose fight against social injustice represents our own beliefs and values at Salix Homes and our ethos to deliver high-quality, affordable housing for everyone,” she said.
The tower block’s one- and two-bedroom apartments will be available under the government’s rent-to-buy scheme, with rent set at 20% below the market value for the area. After five years of renting, residents will have the option to purchase the flat.
Dr Janette Martin, a modern history archivist (special collections) at John Rylands Library, part of the University of Manchester, said the naming of the Artifex building during the year the Guardian celebrates its bicentenary was a “fitting tribute to the memory of the champion of social justice, compassion and decent housing”.
