News

A preview of a promising philanthropic project as Embassy Village makes progress

There are plenty of questions surrounding it, but the sentiment behind this cause seems nothing but sincere.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 10th July 2025

Embassy Village, the upcoming homeless village that is set to open in Manchester, is making quick progress, and we recently got to preview the project with an early tour of the site.

Located just outside the city centre proper in Castlefield and near the border into Salford, the humanitarian housing project is looking to provide not just shelter but food and drink, employment, education and all manner of support to local rough sleepers.

Starting out as a controversial shipping container concept, which would have seen repurposed bits of old freight cargo turned into ‘pods’, the idea has grown since then and now

In fact, they’re not far from being done, with the team currently predicting a November finish date. Here’s how it’s looking so far.

embassy village manchester
embassy village progress
Credit: The Manc Group

Situated along a slice of the Bridgewater Canal, running along the length of the recognisable railway arches – 22 of them, to be precise – Embassy Village is set to become the first privately-funded homeless community not just in the UK but anywhere in Europe.

As far as the group behind this inspiring bit of philanthropy can tell in researching for this development, they haven’t found anything like this anywhere on the continent, certainly not on this scale.

Starting out as a repurposed luxury tour bus turned mobile rough sleeping shelter, they have since gone on to run three male and two women’s shelters, helping more than 175 individuals get back on their feet, from being rehomed to getting back into work and, ultimately, living independently.

Created by co-founder and director Sid Williams back in 2018, who has already helped countless vulnerable adults in and around Greater Manchester, there is a lot of faith behind this initiative, quite literally, in fact.

Sid and his wife Tess, who has also been helping spearhead Embassy‘s work here in the UK, are passionate Christians, but there’s no dogmatic or preachy vibes to be detected – at least as far as we could tell, anyway.

homeless village castlefield mcr
The ‘Village Hall’, where work, education and general life skills will be developed.
homeless village greater manchester
Outdoor spaces are being carved out, including areas to relax, sports courts and more.
Suitable candidates in the shelter system will be selected in order to identify those who could manage resettlement. (Credit: The Manc)

Besides a nice ‘tithing’ idea, which sees 10% of all unrestricted funds from the village donated to relevant charities in the region and further afield, the only real Christian value being promoted here is ‘love thy neighbour’, and that’s the kind of ethos we can get behind regardless of creed.

You can see some of the old fashioned values in aspects such as the public hall seen above, where people will not only be encouraged to gather but learn, create, socialise and once again start to reintegrate into a proper community.

There’ll even be parts of the Embassy’s ‘resettlement team’ living on-site to help get people back on their feet, with at least one dedicated staff member assigned to every six residents.

As Sid put it in a spin on the well-trodden old proverb, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, he believes that sometimes, “it takes a city to raise a village.”

Those staying here will not be given a leg up back into the working world, providing inroads to full-time contracts and a proper wage, but they will also be encouraged to take up wellbeing activities, taken on trips and away days beyond the city limits and Greater Manchester full stop.

An example of the on-site staff’s living quarters.
Each unit will have it own front door and all essential amenities.
They have an approximate 92% success rate when it comes to rehoming and reintegrating residents, with many ultimately coming back to work for the organisation. Think of it as a ‘pay it forward’ spirit,

With dozens of local businesses contributing to the construction of Embassy Village, they’ve now managed to raise more than £5.2 million in funding.

As well as backing from developers Capital & Centric (led by Salford-born Tim Heatley) and the likes of regeneration specialist Peel L&P, who made the land available, there are several other organisations chipping in to help house upwards of 40 different individuals.

That being said, they are still roughly £400,000 short of their desired target, which will help them build every aspect of Embassy Village they’re hoping to make come to fruition, so further partnerships are obviously welcome.

Following an official update from Manchester City Council, we can also now confirm that the space will link up to the soon-to-be expanded Castlefield Viaduct, where three of four currently out-of-use tram lines will be turned into one long sky garden, similar to New York’s famous High Line.

Following our tour of Embassy Village so far, there was one salient takeaway: there are a lot of people who really care about this cause working on this project.

Is it perfect? Maybe not? Would it be great if we could simply end Greater Manchester’s rough sleeping crisis by housing every rough sleeper in a traditional home, or one of the many new build properties in 0161? Of course it would, but we sadly all know it isn’t as simple as that.

Nevertheless, this current option is damn sight better than the alternative: allowing more and more people to end up on the streets, bouncing in and out of shelters, struggling with addiction, mental health and so on. They’re trying and they already have a proven track record spanning more than half a decade.

You can get a better idea of what it will look like when completed down below.

A look at Embassy Village as construction on Manchester’s homeless housing project begins
The preview tour did help us picture how these Embassy Village CGIs will be brought to life.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

News

Chester Zoo’s viral new snow leopard cub ventures outside for the first time

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Chester Zoo’s adorable baby snow leopard who went viral last week could very well be about to go viral again.

That’s because new footage of it venturing outside for the first time have been released.

After arriving to first-time parents Nubra and Yashin, who are both three-years-old, last month (10 June 2025), keepers at Chester Zoo said mum and cub had mostly spent their time quietly tucked away in a cosy den, away from the eyes of the onlooking public – but now, it’s time for the little one to see what the outside world is all about.

Now, at seven-weeks old, the cub has gained in strength and confidence, and experts expected that it could venture outside at ‘any moment’.

Zookeepers are still yet to confirm the sex of the cub, and will be able to do soon once it has undergone its first health check-up with the vets.

We can also expect to hear one the little one’s name is very soon too.

If you’re unfamiliar with snow leopards, they are classed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and it’s believed there are as few as 4,000 now remaining in the wild.

Nicknamed the ‘ghosts of the mountains’, these elusive – but adorable – big cats are found in the rugged, remote regions of Central Asia and the Himalayas – but sadly, despite being known for living in desolate, harsh environments, they continue to face threats from habitat loss, climate change, poaching, and retaliatory killings by farmers.

Chester Zoo’s viral new snow leopard cub ventures outside for the first time / Credit: Chester Zoo

The cub’s birth follows the opening of Chester Zoo’s Himalayan habitat in May 2024, which is a vast, rocky environment that authentically recreates the mountainous terrain of Central Asia.

“This is the first snow leopard cub to be born at Chester Zoo,” commented Dave Hall, who is the Team Manager of carnivores at Chester Zoo, last week when the adorable hidden den cam footage was first released to the public.

“It’s a truly historic moment and a real cause for celebration – not just for our teams here, but also for the future of this magnificent species globally.”

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Although it’s still early days, carnivore experts at the zoo say Nubra is showing ‘excellent maternal instincts’ by nursing her new arrival every few hours and always keeping close by.

Featured Image – Chester Zoo

News

Rochdale man, 20, found guilty of assaulting police officers and the public at Manchester Airport

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A man from Rochdale has been found guilty of assaulting a man and two female police officers at Manchester Airport last year.

20-year-old Mohammed Fahir Amaaz has been convicted of common assault and two counts of actual bodily harm following a four-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court in relation to a high-profile incident that took place at Manchester Airport on 23 July 2024.

The first attack on the member of public – of which extensive footage of was shared with the court over the course of the trail – took place in a largely public area of the Airport, but despite claims made to the contrary, Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) investigation found no evidence of any ‘prior threatening’ or ‘unacceptable behaviour’ by the victim aimed towards Amaaz or his family.

Three GMP officers – one male and two female – responded to the initial assault, and as they proceeded to detain and arrest Amaaz at the Terminal 2 car park pay station for assault, they suffered a number of injuries – such as concussion, a broken nose, and bruising and swelling.

CCTV played to the jury during the trail showed Amaaz throwing 10 punches, two ‘elbow strikes’, and one kick in what was described as a ‘prolonged and violent’ attack.

An investigation, led by a team from GMP’s Serious Crime Division, was subsequently launched following the incident.

Police were said to have worked ‘diligently and expediently’ through all the moving footage, including CCTV and body worn camera recordings, complemented by the testimonies of witnesses to the incident, which allowed them to present a clear and accurate picture of the facts of the events to the jury.

A jury convicted Amaaz of assaults on the two female officers, but a decision is still inconclusive regarding the incident with the male police officer.

GMP now says it will be working with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in support of a re-trial for these inconclusive counts.

A CCTV image of the brawl in action / Credit: CPS

“Whilst assaults on police officers are sadly not uncommon, such attacks can never be justified,” commented Sir Stephen Watson, who is the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, following the trial.

“Our officers are decent people who routinely place themselves in harm’s way to protect the public, and they deserve our respect and support.

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“I am particularly grateful to those many members of the public who have contacted the force in order to pass on their best wishes to the officers affected.”

Featured Image – GMP

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