An independent homelessness charity has received planning permission to change the use of its city centre premises. Nottingham City Council have granted Emmanuel House Support Centre permission to create 20 bedrooms across the first and second floors of its premises on Goose Gate, Hockley.
These bedrooms will provide short-term emergency accommodation for people who find themselves homeless. Whilst changes will be made on the two floors to convert them into bedrooms, the ground floor will continue to provide day support.
Phase one of the development will begin in the coming months, with the first part of the development to include the replacement of the support centre's existing windows to double-glazed aluminium windows. This will not only improve the thermal performance, but the appearance of the building.
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Denis Tully, CEO at Emmanuel House, said: “This is fantastic news for the charity as it means we’re one step closer to our ambition of providing short-term emergency respite care becoming a reality, contributing to reducing the number of people who are homeless in Nottingham.”
Partners involved in the project include CPMG Architects, project managers EDGE, structural and civil engineers Hexa, and mechanical and electrical engineers Chord Consult. Steve Milan, associate at CPMG Architects, said: “The journey that Emmanuel House is embarking on has only just started, but an important milestone has been reached and we’re proud to be working within a highly skilled project team that cares about the city of Nottingham.
"We look forward to moving forward with the project and supporting with fundraising efforts.” Geoff Tindsley, director at EDGE, added: “We’re grateful to Nottingham City Council for its quick approval of a project set to significantly change homelessness support in Nottingham.
"Helping Emmanuel House make its new vision a reality has already been an exciting process to date, and we’re looking forward to continuing to work closely alongside the trustees and project team in this next phase, offering our expertise in any way we can.”
It is expected that the project will cost the charity £2m, so fundraising will begin once the team has completed the preparatory work. James Garment, director at Hexa, said: “We’re incredibly pleased to be working with Emmanuel House on a scheme that will make such a difference to the local community.
"With the project involving significant remodelling of the internal layout of the existing building, collaboration across the project design team, which has a long-standing and proven record of delivering successful projects together, will ensure that the finished development really stands up to the charity’s vision.”
Denis added: “We’re continuing to work with Nottingham City Council and our consultants before we can go out for funding. We have more work to do before we can start the crucial fundraising stages. The immediate need for Emmanuel House remains the significant task of raising vitals funds for our Winter Appeal, which will support people in crisis and at risk of homelessness over winter.”
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