The project will be delivered in partnership between South Lanarkshire Council and the charity Social Bite, and is based at the site of the former Westfield Saw Mills in Harriet Street.
Josh Littlejohn, Social Bite Founder & Sharon Egan Head of Housing Services, South Lanarkshire Council.(Image: Devlin Photo ltd)
People in Rutherglen can find out more about new supported accommodation and services being provided in the town.
The project will be delivered in partnership between South Lanarkshire Council and the charity Social Bite, and is based at the site of the former Westfield Saw Mills in Harriet Street.
Representatives from South Lanarkshire Council and Social Bite will be in attendance to provide updates and answer questions.
They will be at the Harriet Street site from 11am to 1pm on Tuesday, August 12, and from 4pm to 6pm on Thursday, August 14.
Another community event will also take place at Rutherglen Town Hall on Thursday, August 21, from 2pm to 6pm.
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Chair of the council’s Housing and Technical Resources Committee, Councillor Davie McLachlan, said: “I hope that as many people as possible take the opportunity to come along and find out more about this project which will help the delivery of the council’s homelessness strategy.
“Social Bite have a proven track record of delivering similar projects and we look forward to working in partnership with them. The site has been designed to ensure that it will integrate with its wider surroundings, is sustainable and can provide a range of services.”
Elaine Mullan, Trusts and Foundations Manager at Social Bite said: “We encourage as many people as possible come along and take the opportunity to find out more about what to expect from the Social Bite Village which is so much more than just accommodation for people experiencing homelessness.
“The Villages are a chance for people who have been less fortunate and fallen into a cycle of homelessness, through no fault of their own, to have a safe and secure place to call home, be an active and positive part of a wider community and start building a brighter future for themselves and those around them.”
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The UK has the highest rate of homelessness in the developed world. Recent figures from 2024 showed that hroughout the country 371,609 households had been assessed as homeless or threatened with losing their home, an increase on last year.
Social Bite launched a homeless village providing temporary supported accommodation in Edinburgh back in 2018, and in September last year South Lanarkshire Council granted permission for a similar venture to be built on the site of a former saw mill in Rutherglen.
The joint venture between the local authority’s Housing Services department and the charity Social Bite will see 16 prefabricated pods and a community hub erected in the town’s Harriet Street. The site was previously home to Westfield Saw Mills but has been lying empty for around eight years.
The council’s interim Executive Director of Housing and Technical Resources, Sharon Egan, and founder of Social Bite, Josh Littlejohn MBE, are pictured above at the site.
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