A new lease of life for an old barracks supporting homeless people and the wider community.

Emmaus Bolton is a thriving charity, community and social enterprise. It offers a home, family and work opportunities to 22 formerly homeless people, in a residential community setting. Many are ex-armed forces or ex-prisoners. People can live and take part in a variety of roles at Emmaus Bolton, sharing a life together, but retaining their independence and dignity.

At Emmaus, everyone is accepted for who they are now, not judged on what they might have been in the past. Supporting their social enterprises is an integral part of community life. These generate the revenue which keeps the community self-sustainable.

Companions (residents) are offered support and receive practical help with work and life skills for an eventual return to independent living. However, the length of stay is open-ended even when personal aspirations are met and there is no pressure to move on.

The need

Emmaus Bolton is situated in the former Derby Barracks, a Territorial Army barracks, built in the 1930s. The site includes accommodation for 22 Companions, a dining room, three kitchens, four laundries, two TV rooms, meeting and training rooms, retail spaces, workshops, a public café, a garden centre, warehousing and a food bank.

The major retail space, the former drill hall was in desperate need of re-roofing. The building connects with the Companions accommodation (The House) at one end, and the manager’s flat and Community offices at the other. The roof has been largely untouched since being built in the 1930s.

For some time Emmaus Bolton knew the roof required major repair but they had more pressing priorities. The roof was suffering from ‘sick nail syndrome’. The slates were slumping, and a number had slipped. The battens were virtually worn away and the felt was crumbling. This allowed water ingress into the Companion’s accommodation and manager’s flat during inclement weather. There was also leakage into the main shop.

The project

The original application was for the pitched roof, however after the project visit with Arcadis, it was clear that the adjacent flat roofs also needed to be repaired. CRASH Corporate Patrons rallied to support Emmaus Bolton by completely replacing the large pitched roof and seven flat roofs.

CRASH Corporate Patron Arcadis carried out an initial survey and prepared an advisory report. Corporate Patron Bauder, along with its approved roofing installer, Cresent Roofing, attended the site to carry out an evaluation and generate a detailed condition report for the relevant roof areas. Additionally, they provided specification proposals for enhancing thermal performance and renewing the waterproofing system. The details from this assessment were utilised by Cresent Roofing to prepare a detailed quotation for the proposed works.  CRASH Patron Company Bauder supported the project with the provision of significantly discounted materials for the project. Corporate Patron MiTek kindly donated $10,000 (£7,744.58) towards the project as part of their 2023 holiday donation fund.

The outcome

Situated in one of the most deprived wards in Greater Manchester, Emmaus Bolton’s shop offers a lifeline to people seeking low-cost household goods and clothing. Companions also run a café, a popular meeting place for local groups offering low-cost hot and cold food. Volunteers also run Lucie’s Pantry,  a food bank which feeds 300 local people each week.

Re-roofing Emmaus Bolton has had a huge impact on the Companions, staff and the local community. It has made the buildings waterproof once again, remedying a health and safety hazard to Companions and staff, preventing further damage and restoring an enjoyable shopping experience for customers.

The social impact