The team behind a pioneering homelessness project in Manchester city centre are gearing up to start on site, buoyed by scooping a national award.

This summer will see long-standing efforts to deliver Embassy Village – a purpose-built community for the city region’s homeless and vulnerable men – finally paying off. It comes as the pro-bono team walked away with the ‘Social Impact Initiative of the Year’ gong at the national RESI Awards 2024. 

The coveted property award was the culmination of years of planning and prep work by the Embassy charity, who are delivering the first-of-its-kind vision in partnership with Peel Waters and Capital&Centric, backed by a city-wide expert team who have given their services for free.

Once complete, Embassy Village will transform the site below 22 railway arches on land which has been provided by Peel Waters. Located adjacent to the Bridgewater Canal and River Irwell, Embassy Village will create a community of 40 new homes with wrap-around support for those who need it most. 

Since planning consent, the focus has been on a major fundraising drive to make the project a reality. A £3.5m donation from the Moulding Foundation was further boosted by £250,000 from Garfield Weston Foundation and £100,000 from Benefact Trust.

It means the first phase of the village can now begin. The coming months will see a contractor appointed, who will then mobilise to get work underway on site. 

In crowning the project a winner at the RESI awards, judges described it as an innovative idea with commitment from across the industry to address homelessness and empower residents.

Sid Williams of Embassy said:

“Once open Embassy Village will provide homes, support and stability for people when they need it most. Our aim is for it to be a community where residents, with support, can re-build their lives and break the cycle of homelessness that people so often get trapped in.

“The national award really belongs to the many organisations and individuals who have tirelessly supported is to get to this point – whether making donations or giving up their time and services. It was the unexpected boost we needed to get us across the starting line. 

“We’ve got a brilliant and busy few months ahead as our vision for Embassy Village becomes a reality and people can expect a flurry of activity this summer. We’ll soon be able to confirm the contractor we’ll be partnering with for the build and we are aiming to get going on site this summer.”

With completion slated for 2025, Embassy Village will feature high-quality homes, a village hall and outdoor green spaces, including mini allotments to grow vegetables and a multi-use sports area.

There’s no let-up in fundraising activity however, as inflation and spiralling material costs have put pressure on the project. Embassy is now working with the business community, individuals and the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity to secure funds for the long-term village running costs.

Anyone wanting to donate time, money or services, can do so via: www.embassyvillage.co.uk

Support for Embassy Village

A raft of organisations and businesses have supported the project to get to this point, with funding, services and material donations. They include: 

Abacus, AEW Architects, Alexander Dawn Ltd, Arcadis, Benefact Trust, Blaze Marketing, Cardinal Maritime, CDD Consult, CDM Services, Connectus, Crookes Walker Consultants, Crown Paint, Cundall, Curtins, Daikin, Deloitte. Derek Gough Associates, Element Sustainability, Engineering Innovation, Engineering Integration, Euan Kellie, Far Logistics, Fisher Acoustics, Flair Foundation, Font Comms, Garfield Weston Foundation, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, Greater Manchester Police Safer By Design team, Hill Dickinson, Hollywood Monster, Ian Farmer Associates, Indigo Lithoprint, Jewson, Jon Matthews Architects, LOFT, Mente, OFR, Our Studio, Paul Butler Associates, Planit IE, Prestige Beds, Shoosmiths, Sigma Capital, Skelton Property Consultancy, Squire Patton Boggs, Sunbelt Rentals, Sweco, Temperature Control, The Environment Partnership (TEP), The Message Trust, Wardell Armstrong.