When Manchester United footballers Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs got planning permission to turn the historic Manchester stock exchange into a boutique hotel
replete with basement gym, spa and rooftop private members’ terrace,
they envisaged opening it up to an exclusive and moneyed clientele.
Instead, a group of homeless people with little or no money have moved
in – with Neville’s blessing.
The hotel, which is undergoing extensive renovations before opening
its doors to paying guests, was occupied on Sunday by a group of
squatters and housing activists called the Manchester Angels.
Instead of the usual response of property owners – rushing to court to
obtain an order to get the uninvited new incumbents evicted – the famous
ex-footballers who own the building have told them they can stay, not
just for a few days, but throughout the coldest months of the winter.
Wesley Hall, 33, a housing and human rights activist who is leading
the protest, said that he broke down in tears following a phone
conversation with Neville on Sunday in which Neville said he had always
supported homeless people and had no problem with the activists using
the hotel to house people during the cold winter months.
“From
my point of view, I’m quite relaxed about this,” Neville replied. He
added that for the past 10 years he had offered support to homeless
people he has seen on the street while walking through Manchester.
“Thank you so much – you don’t understand what you have done for us,” Hall said repeatedly to Neville.
Hall and his fellow activists say they can now act on their plan to
provide a one-stop shop for homeless people – a roof over their heads,
hot food, health checkups, benefit advice, workshops, signposting to
other services and help with securing permanent accommodation. They are
calling the initiative Operation Safe Winter, and have renamed the stock
exchange the Sock Exchange, as they will be distributing clothing to the new occupants.
“We are going to do everything properly,” said Hall. “We have already
drawn up rotas for cooking, cleaning and staffing the gate. Everyone
will be able to have their own room and each person will be able to lock
their bedroom door. We were expecting that as soon as Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville
found out that we had occupied the building, they would try to get us
evicted and that we would have to look for another building. Having a
few months during the winter to work with homeless people without the
threat of eviction hanging over our heads is brilliant.”
Pinterest
Giggs and Neville have embarked on a number of joint ventures together
since they became teammates at Manchester United. Photograph: McPix
Ltd/Rex
He said Neville’s only stipulation was that surveyors and other work
people would be able to gain access to the building as and when they
need to, which was readily agreed to by Hall. “We undertake not to cause
any damage to anything and to leave the building in as good if not a
better state than we found it in. I have ordered smoke alarms to keep
the building safe. I even suggested to Gary that he might be interested
in employing some of the homeless people who are living here as
labourers to help with the redevelopment work on the hotel,” he said.
The former stock exchange in Norfolk Street in central Manchester was
built in 1906 and is Grade II listed. Neville and Giggs have permission
to turn it into a 35-bed hotel with basement gym and spa, also
featuring a rooftop private members’ terrace and a ground-floor
restaurant and bar.
The first regional stock exchanges opened in 1836 in Manchester and
Liverpool, linked to the one established in London more than a century
earlier. Its early days were driven by the railway boom and the need to
raise capital in the north of England. The Manchester Guardian described
the mood at the time as “Joint Stock mania”. The exchange listed
railway companies as well as insurance, minerals and manufacturers. The
building was designed by the Bolton architects Bradshaw, Gass and Hope,
and cost £86,000 to build.
The successful occupation is second time lucky for the activists.
During the Conservative party conference held in Manchester earlier this
month, they occupied another prestigious Grade II-listed building. As
the prime minister made his keynote speech about a new house building
programme to develop 200,000 new homes,
the activists aimed to send a strong signal to the government. They
argue that while this initiative might help those on middle incomes, it
will not tackle the problem of homelessness and the hundreds of
thousands of empty homes they say should be used to provide short-term
accommodation for homeless people.
The activists say that homelessness in Manchester has risen by 150%
in recent years and that the local council has penalised rough sleepers
who have pitched tents in the city centre. According to the latest
statistics published by Crisis, 280,000 people in England approached councils last year
seeking assistance, while 7,581 slept rough on the streets of London, a
16% increase on the previous year. The latest figures released by the Empty Homes Agency says that there are currently 610,000 empty homes across the country.
Hall is already considering how Christmas will be celebrated. He is
hoping to enlist the culinary expertise of celebrity chefs to provide a
festive lunch to remember. He asked anyone who would like to help out to
contact him on Twitter.
“I can’t quite believe it. The whole thing is a dream come true,” he
said. “We’ve got a real opportunity to do some intensive work with
homeless people and make a big difference to their lives.”
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