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A look at Embassy Village as construction on Manchester’s homeless housing project begins
Danny Jones
Work has officially begun on Manchester’s long-rumoured Embassy Village, a new living quarters designed specifically to house the local homeless community.
Set to be the largest purpose-built village of its kind in the UK, the hope is to provide short to medium-term housing for up to 40 rough sleepers in the Greater Manchester area.
Planning permission for the £4 million project proposed by the Embassy Charity was handed down back in 2021 and enabling works have been gradually taking place, with the land now fully prepped for construction to begin.
Officially breaking ground on Tuesday, 19 November, developers and regeneration specialists Peel Waters shared the first images from the site as well as concept artwork for what the district will look like once completed.
The 4.5-acre brownfield site sits beneath 22 railway arches just off the Egerton Street Bridge near Castlefield and the bustling Regent Road which heads towards Salford. Although it was initially said rooms would be made from shipping containers, the units will now be proper purpose-built structures.
Designed to house homeless and vulnerable people living in and around Manchester within individual units, Embassy Village is a joint non-profit venture by both Peel Waters and well-known property company Capital&Centric.
Contractor Vermont Group will be taking on the construction for free, with around 50 organisations offering their services pro bono, including AEW Architects, Planit and Jon Matthews Architects, who helped design the living quarters and wider communal space from the ground up.
Aiming to create a genuinely beneficial community environment, with those staying there able to access green spaces, mini-allotment plots, sports facilities; counselling services, laundry rooms, computer spaces and tonnes more, they’ve come a long way from offering tour bus beds to the homeless.
Residents will also start off on the right path towards getting back on their feet and those staying there will be required to carry out six hours of training per week in things like shopping, cooking, budgeting and other key life skills.
Speaking on the first day of proper construction, Peel Waters‘ director James Whittaker said: “Today’s launch event is an important milestone, marking years of hard work and collaboration to deliver the UK’s first purpose-built community village…”
He went on to thank all of those who have backed the plans so far, including Greater Manchester’s Mayor Andy Burnham, who has already applauded it as a “fantastic idea.”
With several local organisations either offering their help for free or contribute by donating to the project, the speed at which work can now move is increasing and it is expected that the 24 homes, as well as the central ‘village hall’ space, will be finished within the next 10 months.
The aim is for Embassy Village to be completed in its entirety by the end of 2025 and with more and more businesses being invited to help with the development along the way, the amount of resources and manpower is only looking like it will increase with approximately £1m still needed to fully bring it to life.
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Cooperating with the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, which specialises in helping the homeless through its ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, Embassy are now working on finding long-term funding for the village’s operational costs once it is up and running.
Another key benefactor is The Moulding Foundation, an organisation dedicated to alleviating social inequalities, who donated £3.5m to support the village’s construction.
Co-founder, Jodie Moulding, told Prolific North: “For most people, access to housing, healthcare, and education is a given – but for others, it is a privilege…
“It has taken an unbelievable amount of time, effort, and energy to get to this point, so finally breaking ground is a huge milestone for everyone involved in bringing Embassy Village to life.”
As for Embassy themselves the charity’s director, Sid Williams, added: “Special thanks go to Matt and Jodie Moulding for their financial backing and the teams at Peel Waters, Capital&Centric, the Mayor’s Charity and Manchester City Council for making this happen.”
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Featured Images — Peel Waters (supplied)
