Plans to transform shipping containers into a new modular home village for rough-sleepers have been submitted to Manchester City Council this week.
Following public consultation, Embassy – which is supported by Peel L&P and CAPITAL&CENTRIC – is planning a new community to help the city’s homeless and vulnerable get back on their feet.
The Embassy Village will provide up to 40 permanent modular homes made from repurposed shipping containers on a self-contained, currently-derelict site below the railway arches between the Bridgewater Canal and River Irwell.
It will provide ‘safe and secure’ accommodation for those who are homeless, or are at risk of being homeless, with in-house start-to-end support, and routes into work.
📢We’re buzzing to announce that our #EmbassyVillage plans for a housing-led community in Manchester have been submitted to the council, which will provide much needed wrap-around support & give the city’s homeless & vulnerable men their own front door @CapitalCentric@PeelLandPpic.twitter.com/qUU41jjKm6
The Embassy Village will also include a Village Hall – a community hub, training and mentoring facility for residents – as well as communal outdoor space with plenty of greenery, a multi use sports area, space to grow vegetables, and external eating and socialising areas.
The charity’s team of re-settlement workers and volunteers will provide wrap-around support of at least six hours per week, per resident, to equip them with a range of life skills designed to help residents “unpack past traumas” and “grow in confidence”.
The self-contained site will be managed 24/7 by Embassy’s experienced team.
Embassy / Peel L&P / CAPITAL&CENTRIC
Speaking on the submitted plans, Sid Williams – Founder of Embassy – said: “The big need in Manchester is to find a way to cut the time it takes for an individual to move on from homelessness.
“Last year, we housed a chap who had spent seven years going from shelter to shelter waiting for council housing to come up [so] Embassy Village will help reduce the burden on the council’s housing waiting list and end people’s homelessness on the day they arrive.
“As residents will be renting their Embassy Village homes, we also hope to instil a strong sense of empowerment from day one.
“Embassy Village is being specifically designed as a zero-tolerance drug and alcohol consumption community [and] critically, we train our residents to manage their money and home and support them into full-time employment with a wide range of Manchester based, full-time employers [which] means most people leave us to live in normal rental accommodation without the need for benefits thereafter.
“Our brilliant team continue to support our residents with aftercare visits and mentoring in the months after they move on to their next chapter, helping to keep them on an even keel as they reintegrate back into society”.
Embassy / Peel L&P / CAPITAL&CENTRIC
Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon – ward member for Hulme – added: “After consultation with councillors and residents with full details of the proposed accommodation, l support the Embassy proposed homeless housing in an under used site on the edge of the canal in the St Georges area.”
“In a city that struggles to offer homes this unique opportunity enables a place of security, advice and rebuilding of vulnerable adults.
“The high quality accommodation will be supported by measures including job opportunities, mental health support and training in life skills in stylish accommodation in an independent, well-lit environment with on-site support.
“[Embassy Village] will work in partnership with Manchester City Council and others in the city, and bring a new chapter for those living in their new homes”.
There’s a World Gravy Wrestling Championship near Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
Just on the outskirts of Greater Manchester, there’s a country pub set in a rural village that hosts a world gravy wrestling championship.
Leave it to us northerners to organise a world gravy wrestling championship because let’s face it, there’s nothing more northern than plummeting yourself into bucket loads of gravy.
At The Rose ‘N’ Bowl in the village of Stacksteads, it’s not just their meals they’re drenching in the brown nectar; they drench any willing guest in this beige saucy goodness too as part of the World Gravy Wrestling Championships.
Here’s a little taster from nearly a decade ago.
Participants are expected to wrestle in the gravy for two minutes, with the winner being judged not only on their play-fighting skills but also on their choice of fancy dress, comedy effect and entertainment.
Past wrestlers have rocked up as zebras, racehorse jockeys and famous TV characters like Ali G and Mickey Mouse.
Each wrestler is encouraged to raise money on behalf of a charity of their choice, but if you don’t have one, donations will be sent to East Lancashire Hospice, which has helped people countywide suffering from life-limiting illness for the past 30 years.
The World Gravy Wrestling Championships have been held outside this very pub for over a decade, with the first ever event taking place at a car park in Wigan before it found a permanent home outside The Rose ‘N’ Bowl.
And if swimming in a pool of gravy isn’t for you, don’t fret because there’s a handful of sauce-free activities you can get involved with spread throughout the pub’s car park.
Fret not, past events have included bouncy castles, cheerleading performances, craft beer stalls, cake and tombola stands and even a BB gun shooting range that are all completely gravy-free.
There will even be help from a local fire brigade who will be on hand to wash down wrestlers in between their gravy-filled tournament, so they can wander round all the stalls too.
The 2025 World Gravy Wrestling Championships are coming to The Rose ‘N’ Bowl in Stacksteads on 25 August, with tickets available in person only, but plenty of information about the event HERE.
If you’re after signing up to be one of the wrestlers at this event, applications are still open and you can get stuck in with all the details you need HERE.
And if that wasn’t enough Northern food competitive action, we’ll catch you at the World Black Pudding Hurling Championships, innabit.
Inside this Victorian mansion with 10 bedrooms, a swimming pool and more near Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
There’s a million-pound Victorian-style mansion that has 10 bedrooms and its own personal swimming pool just outside of Greater Manchester.
Just like the childhood nursery rhyme, “There were three in the bed and the little one said… there’s another seven beds, roll over!” or at least that’s how they remember it in this character property.
Located in Warrington, less than an hour away from Manchester city centre, this property is a semi-detached Victorian property built in 1860, with 10 bedrooms and its own private swimming pool, all spread across four floors.
As soon as you enter the foyer, your eyes are drawn to the sleek silver chandelier before you notice the grand staircase, which feels like a piece of living history.
Inside this Victorian mansion with 10 bedrooms and a swimming pool near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market)
The ground floor hosts two of a whopping 10 bedrooms alongside a teal-toned farmhouse-style kitchen and that extremely impressive swimming pool with its own built-in projector.
In the kitchen, the focal point is the large wrap-around kitchen unit, which is accompanied by a variety of hanging lights and a big central island.
On the way to the swimming pool, there are a handful of lockers identical to those found in a leisure and as you enter the room, your eyes are drawn to the island-inspired feature wall.
Venture upstairs to the first floor and you’re greeted by five spacious bedrooms with one having its own en-suite while the rest share a main bathroom.
Each of these bedrooms follows a completely different design style, with the largest following a muted grey palette with pops of yellow thanks to the artwork and bed accessories.
The grand staircase and one of ten bedrooms inside this Victorian mansion near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market
As you go upstairs again, you’ll find (you guessed it) even more bedrooms, three to be exact, with the standout
The stand-out of this second floor is the navy-walled bedroom with a vintage vanity unit, patterned floor-to-ceiling curtains and a similarly dark-blue rug to match its four walls.
Another flight of stairs and you’ve finally reached the top of this property, and there’s an LED-lined ceiling and a neutral bedroom colour scheme of greys, whites and everything in between.
There are various amenities nearby, including three schools and three train stations… for if you get fed up of strolling around your four-floored ten-bed, swimming pool-owning mansion.
Two contrasting bedrooms found within this Victorian mansion near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market
We know this property may not be in the price range and might not be affordable for a lot of readers, ourselves included, but we can dream, right?
You can check out this Victorian mansion and flick through even more pictures of this property – Snooping never hurt anybody? Official site HERE.
As always, make sure to check out The Manc‘s property page to check all the other stunning structures currently on sale/in progress across Greater Manchester and in the nearby North West.
Emily Sergeant -
18th May 2021 
