A refuge for women and families fleeing violence is to be created in Bury with the council admitting there has been no safe accommodation for victims of domestic abuse ‘for many years’.
Planning permission has been granted in the past week to convert a large detached property in the town into ten apartments over three floors to offer a safe haven to those facing intolerable conditions in their homes.
The facility will be operated by Calico/SafeNet and is a short distance from Bury town centre.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service has chosen not to publish the precise location of the refuge in order to protect any future residents.
READ MORE: Greater Manchester local elections 2022: In-depth analysis of every borough
A letter in support fo the planning application to convert the building has been publshed by Bury Council.
Tom Hoghton, the council’s community safety manager, said: “The development of this refuge facility is a key priority for Bury Council as there has been no safe accommodation in the borough for victims of domestic abuse for many years.
“Bury community safety partnership and strategic housing team have been working together over a number of years to develop safe accommodation in Bury.”
The creation of the refuge comes after the 2021 Domestic Abuse Act placed statutory duties on the council to provide safe accommodation for victims of domestic abuse and their children.
The act introduced a range of new measures designed to bring an end to the ‘postcode lottery’ of finding emergency accommodation for domestic abuse survivors.
Under their new duties Bury Council was required to undertake a needs assessment for accommodation-based domestic abuse support for all victims in the borough.
Following that it was found there was a need for 20 to 25 units of accommodation across the borough.
These would provide support for both female and male survivors, those with complex needs, specialist BAME support, and provision for larger families.
In November 2021 Bury Council commissioned SafeNet to develop there domestic abuse response in partnership with Calico.
Extensive renovation of the identified building will now takes place.
The works will be to adapt the existing structure and spaces to suit a combination of one-bedroom apartments and en-suite bedrooms across three floors.
There will also be communal spaces, including lounge and kitchen areas.
To get the latest email updates from the Manchester Evening News, click here.
