The project could help tackle homelessness.
The construction under the railway bridge is taking shape. (Image: Charlotte Hall)
Work is well underway on a project to build an incredible ‘village’ under a railway bridge in the middle of Manchester.
But Embassy Village in Castlefield is not just another new city centre housing development, according to its founders. Instead the charity-steered project will help tackle the city’s rising homelessness.
The self-contained studio apartments off Egerton Street on St George’s Island will temporarily house up to 40 rough sleepers – while helping them secure jobs and permanent accommodation.
Between the railway arches embellished with decades of colourful graffiti, several of the homes are already taking shape, with basic structures already complete.
Diggers and machinery make their way between graffitied walls and the new builds. (Image: Charlotte Hall)
While there is still a way to go, charity Embassy hopes some of the ‘pods’ will be ready for use in the new year.
The small apartments will provide short and medium-term stays for residents while they receive mental health support and a crash course in life skills like keeping a home, budgeting and preparing for job interviews.
The £5m project will also include a ‘village hall’, and ultimately other facilities like sports pitches, gardens and a joinery workshop.
(Image: Charlotte Hall)
“We’re literally building a village from scratch,” Embassy’s Sid Williams told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. “It’s exciting. Because when it’s done – that’s just the stage set for the real action.”
The idea behind the village is to ‘break the homelessness cycle’ by helping those who’ve spent time living on the streets get used to living in a home again while receiving support into employment.
Sid Williams at the entrance of what is becoming Embassy Village. (Image: Charlotte Hall)
Capital and Centric director Tim Heatley, who is supporting the build, said: “People having their own front door, their own space, their own responsibilities to cook, clean, budget – that’s transformational.
“It’s a great way to take these redundant and derelict arches which have sat empty forever and where there were all sorts of antisocial behaviour and crime issues happening and turn them into a positive, putting people here who’ve been sleeping rough with a program of mental health support, and helping them to get a job, reconnect with community, feel valued.”
Tim Heatley from Capital & Centric, who are supporting the project. (Image: Charlotte Hall)
Much of the funding has been secured through donations from several major developers and businesses, many based in Manchester. But the project is still £400k short from completion, with Embassy seeking further partners to help it reach completion.