The 'village' beneath railway arches that could help tackle homelessness

Work has started on a ‘village’ beneath the railway arches in Manchester city centre that could help the city tackle rough sleeping. Embassy Village will house up to 40 homeless men on St George’s Island in Castlefield.

Around 40 studio homes beneath 22 railway bridges off Egerton Street will provide short and medium-term stays for residents while they are helped back onto their feet.

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The 4.5 acre site will also include a community centre with counselling room and a training centre, communal green spaces, allotment gardens and sports areas, with much of the build being carried out not-for-profit by construction firm Vermont Group.

The project has taken four years to get to this point, with planning permission first granted in 2021. Around 67 different companies and trusts came together to fund the £5m build, with bosses estimating the project received more than £1m in unpaid work to bring the site to life.

Speaking to the MEN, Embassy Village’s Sid Williams said: “It feels very much like a Manchester effort. There’s that phrase - it takes a village to raise a child, but it turns out it takes a city to raise a village.”

Construction is expected to be completed within 10 months.

Williams, who has experienced homelessness himself as a refugee in Rwanda, said: “This time next year, we’ll be able to take a load of people and avoid them staying on the streets in this weather.”

The build comes as Manchester continues to see rates of homelessness skyrocket. Last year, 155 people died while rough sleeping.

The idea behind the project is to provide ‘homes, support and stability’ to help people ‘break the cycle of homelessness’. The charity plans to provide wrap-around support to help people back into employment and private rented accommodation.

Residents will have to complete six hours of training a week while at the complex, in areas like shopping, cooking and budgeting.

While the housing complex will only accept homeless men, the charity is in the process of acquiring an apartment complex in Greater Manchester to support more than 20 women.