The UK’s first purpose-built village, providing 40 high-quality, fully furnished homes for homeless people has been completed.
Embassy village will provide houses for rough sleepers beneath 22 railway arches in Castlefield.
It is a fully pro bono build, uniting over 130 businesses that donated their expertise, labour, and materials to make the project a reality.
The total cost of building and operating the housing is about £5m, with GMCA funding coming alongside £3.6m from charitable foundations. Alongside that, about £2m has been provided in professional fees for free by businesses in Manchester.
Sid Williams, Co-Founder and Director of Embassy, reflected on the milestone. He said: “Buying an A-lister tour bus to house homeless people seemed a big vision when we started, and yet here we are today with a completed village. We couldn’t have done this without the incredible companies and individuals who believed in our vision and gave their support to see it through.”
On land provided rent-free by Peel Waters, the site, located adjacent to the Bridgewater Canal and River Irwell, has been turned from a wasteland into a vibrant neighbourhood.
Credit: Peel Waters
James Whittaker, Managing director, Peel Waters, said: “Embassy Village has been a project we have been planning and working on for over five years to deliver much needed homes for the homeless and some of our most vulnerable members of the community. However, it would not have reached this point if it wasn’t for all of the other businesses and organisations from across Manchester getting involved and also believing in the vision and working together. Everyone involved has been incredibly generous with their time, resources, skills and more – I say it every time but it blows me away when I explain how many businesses have got involved and supported Embassy Village.”
Now that the village is open, it offers more than just shelter; it provides a comprehensive ecosystem designed to break the cycle of homelessness for good. The completed site includes:
- A village hall, a multi-use sports area, and outdoor green spaces, where residents can grow their own vegetables.
- A dedicated space for training, mentoring, and socialising, where residents receive six hours of dedicated 1‑on‑1 support every week.
- The village is now ready to host training sessions on everything from cooking and budgeting to interview prep, with established employment pipelines through 20+ local partner companies.
Recent data published by Shelter found that there are just shy of 10,000 homeless people in Manchester, up on the previous year.