New temporary accommodation for more than 50 homeless families will be created by the council on the site of a derelict former office block in south Manchester.
Subject to planning approval, the initiative – part of wider plans to boost the city’s stock of quality temporary accommodation – will see self-contained two-bedroom accommodation for around 55 homeless families built where former NHS offices Mauldeth House currently stand.
The Council acquired the 1.1 acre site, off Nell Lane in Chorlton Park ward, last month with the support of the Government’s Local Authority Housing Fund.
It is ideally located for families – close to shops, schools, public transport, leisure facilities and Chorlton Park.
Mauldeth House itself has been empty for several years and had become a blight on the neighbourhood, attracting anti-social behaviour and being targeted by squatters.
The new accommodation will see families supported by an accommodation team based on site to help them move on as quickly as possible into permanent settled tenancies.
The Mauldeth House initiative is one example of the Council’s drive to increase its temporary accommodation stock across the city to reduce the number of out-of-area placements.
Other examples include:
Mariana House, a former care home in Whalley Range which was repurposed as temporary accommodation and opened in November last year with 19 beds for single homeless people with mobility needs.
The Poplars in Rusholme, former council offices converted into 24 self-contained one-bed flats as temporary accommodation for people facing homelessness upon discharge from hospital. This opened last summer.
Fulmead, a former children’s centre and youth justice office in Cheetham ward which has been converted into temporary accommodation for single homeless people.
Brownley Road, a former probation office in Woodhouse Park which has been converted into temporary accommodation for 20 single homeless people with 24/7 support on site.
Both Fulmead and Brownley Road have welcomed people who were previously temporarily accommodated outside Manchester due to pressure on accommodation.
Deputy Council Leader Cllr Joanna Midgley said: "Mauldeth House is a great example of how we can put derelict properties to good use to benefit those experiencing homelessness (in this case families) as well as making our neighbourhood look better.
"We are tackling homelessness on many fronts, the most important one being prevention, but we also need an increased supply of good quality temporary accommodation within the city so that if people do become homeless they are not uprooted from their social support networks - this is especially difficult for families with children."
"One of the ways we are doing this is through the innovative use of existing sites whether they are council owned or we are able to acquire them as in the case of Mauldeth House."
"The key thing is also that where people find themselves in temporary accommodation, they are supported to find permanent settled homes and that's what we are doing"