A building in Bury’s hospitality district could soon be turned into emergency housing for families facing homelessness.
Vacant floors above The Monkey House bar on Silver Street will be converted into temporary accommodation, if a change of use application is approved by Bury council.
JDBR Investments LTD plans to renovate ‘underutilized’ offices on the first and second floors of 18 Silver Street into four flats. These would each contain a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and a flexible living area with a sofa-bed to accommodate sleeping facilities for children.
The new apartments would connect to 20 to 22 Silver Street, which are already in use as emergency accommodation and also owned by JDBR Investments LTD.
Mr Sam Golding from Gold Sketch Studios LTD, representing the developer in the application, said: “The proposed units are designed to be built to a high, modern standard and crucially allow families to remain together, maintaining privacy and continuity within their local community and school catchment areas.”
He added the flats were ‘not intended to house immigrants’ and would help local residents facing hardship ‘to remain in their local area’, with good transport links and lots of local amenities.
The council-backed scheme is designed to be ‘sensitive to its surroundings’ within the Bury Town Centre Conservation Area, according to a heritage statement. No external changes would be made, but minor internal alterations would ‘ensure the continued life of the building’.
Bury Council already discussed backing the scheme in January 2025. JDBR put forward 18-22 Silver St and Huntley House on Chesham Fold Rd for emergency housing.
A report on behalf of coun Clare Cummins, in charge of housing services, said: “There is an affordable housing shortage crisis in the UK and in Bury. This puts massive pressure on the Council’s homeless services and its duties to homeless people.
“There has been a significant increase of homeless single people and families requiring temporary accommodation. … Bury Council is currently utilising Bed and Breakfast and hotel accommodation which is costly and does not provide the correct space for people to develop independent living skills for tenancy sustainment in the future.
“For the Council this solution will be far less expensive and more desirable than the current use of B&B accommodation.”
It is estimated that the council will save around £2m from commissioning Huntley House and Silver Street over a five year contract.
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