Manchester homeless charity Embassy is planning a new community to help the city centre’s homeless get back on their feet: Embassy Village. Crookes Walker are proud to be providing our services free of charge to this worthy scheme, and helping to make a real difference to the lives of homeless people in Manchester.
The Vision
The Embassy Bus has been operating in Manchester for two years, offering temporary overnight shelter to the homeless in a re-purposed tour bus. Whilst this provides much needed respite, it cannot alone end homelessness or help promote independence.
Embassy Village is something else: a community to provide support through the transition from life on the streets back into local communities.
The site will consist of 40 modular “pod” homes, with a village hall serving as multi-purpose community space. A reception pod will provide site security and the surrounding area will be transformed into green space with allotments, sports facilities and social spaces.
Each resident will have their own private home, enabling them to secure employment, claim benefits and gain the skills to move onto fully independent living. Embassy estimates the average stay will be around six months, with wrap around support provided by their team throughout that time.
The proposed village site is a self-contained, currently derelict site between the Bridgewater Canal and River Irwell in Manchester City Centre, comprising 22 railway arches.
16 Pods and the village hall are planned for phase one, with a further 24 pods to be added in later phases.
Crookes Walker’s Consultancy Services
Crookes Walker are providing a range of services to ensure the site is developed efficiently in a safe, cost effective and sustainable manner.
Our initial duties included site surveys to identify existing services and limitations which may impact on the wider design team’s proposals.
We will be providing design solutions for the external service routes for pod installations and determining the servicing strategy within pods and the village hall, in line with acoustic limitations, fire safety and energy planning requirements.
We aim to celebrate the village’s location with strategic lighting design to enhance the visual impact of the railway arches and local environment.
We look forward to collaborating with the wider design team throughout this project, working together we can have a real impact on the lives of vulnerable people in our local community.
Next Steps
A public consultation on the scheme runs until 18th February 2021. Visit the Embassy Village website to have your say om the proposals.
Following the consultation, Embassy aims to submit their planning application in early Spring 2021.
You can also support Embassy’s work by donating via their website: https://embassybus.org/
