Joy’s Corner

Many will have seen the cranes lifting the pods into place during construction. I attended the opening ceremony on Friday and had a chance to look around. Here are some photos of the inside.

I am very impressed. They are very well designed and look fabulous. It Takes a City the homelessness charity who organised and built the site have done a very good job. I think that the importance of good design in healthy living cannot be overstated.

The site has been leased for 5 years from the council and is not the first time that they have been used. There are successful sites elsewhere in Cambridge such as Newmarket Road and others that have been in existence for a while and this experience has informed the process here.

There were a few residents asking questions at the event so I will try and answer some of them here.

Why have such housing at all? How does it help with homelessness? The short answer is:

• We have a housing crisis in the UK and a lack of suitable accommodation.
• These pods are much cheaper and quicker to build

This is a useful webpage from Homeless Link, setting out the basis for using pods.

https://homeless.org.uk/areas-of-expertise/improving-homelessness-services/supporting-innovation-in-homelessness-services/spotlight-modular-housing

The Council housing team are the ones who determine who will move in.

More on It Takes a City is here:

https://www.ittakesacity.org.uk