The boom bank of Manc
HAVE you ever wondered how you get to become a millionaire property developer? No, nor have I, but the answer is going to be revealed tonight in any case, in a new show on BBC2.
So, what the heck, we may as well take a look.
The programme is called MANCTOPIA: BILLION POUND PROPERTY BOOM (9pm) and the man being asked for his money-making secrets is 39-yearold Manchester developer Tim Heatley.
It’s a fair enough question, bearing in mind Tim has been splashing out more than £2million a week, transforming land he’s bought near Piccadilly railway station. So, yes, notepads at the ready, here it comes: the secret of Tim’s success.
“I grew up here,” he declares. “If you want to crack on, and you grow up in a city like Manchester, and you want to put the effort in, then it’s relatively straightforward.” Oh, dear. Well, that wasn’t terribly helpful, was it? Especially as there’s someone else in the programme who’s done all those things and hasn’t got nearly as far.
Mum-of-two Christina was also born locally, works hard and always pays her bills on time.And yet through no fault of her own she’s just been told she must leave her rented house.
So, yes, that’s essentially what this series is about. On the one hand, Manchester is booming, with fancy skyscrapers shooting up and the population due to double by 2025. On the other, born-and-bred locals are being priced out.To its credit, though, the programme resists the urge to turn this into a simple goodies-vs-baddies affair.
The areas Tim wants to transform, he points out, are seriously run-down. And changing people’s perception of them isn’t going to happen by magic.
“We’re spending a quarter of a billion pounds on a part of the city that’s currently unloved,” he reminds us. “It’s anti-social behaviour, it’s red-light district.
“And that could go catastrophically wrong, if people don’t buy into our vision.”
Also, Tim doesn’t exactly come across as a ruthless ogre. He’s even become chief fundraiser for Mayor Andy Burnham’s homelessness charity. And there’s no point in accusing him of doing this to ease his conscience.
He openly admits as much. Asked what’s in it for him, he replies: “I feel less guilty.” Earlier, in ANIMAL PARK
(BBC1, 10am), Rio is becoming a right nuisance. No, not that Rio, although that one can be a bit annoying as well, but Longleat’s cockatoo.
He’s wrecking the premises, upsetting the neighbours (just ask Parsnip the porcupine) and even taken a pop at Ben Fogle.
No one takes a pop at Ben Fogle. Not on my watch.