Midlands based charity is seeking development strategy advice for new supported housing in Stoke-on-Trent

What do they need help with?

Gingerbread Family Support has an opportunity to develop a purpose-built supported housing building for homeless families in Stoke-on-Trent. The charity has been gifted a development-ready brownfield site with full planning permission, creating a rare chance to deliver a long-term response to rising family crisis-homelessness in the city.

The proposed development would provide 54 self-contained family flats, including a mix of one, two and three-bedroom homes. Alongside accommodation, the building would bring support and shared facilities under one roof. These would include the charity’s children’s Activity Club, a communal lounge, learning spaces, meeting rooms for multi-agency working, and a training kitchen to support life and employment skills.

The project is designed to be more than a housing scheme. Gingerbread wants to create a holistic, trauma-informed environment where families can recover, rebuild and move towards independence. By bringing services together in one purpose-built setting, the charity aims to improve stability for local children and reduce families’ reliance on unsuitable temporary accommodation.

This development would significantly expand Gingerbread’s current provision. Its two existing sites provide 33 units and operate at full capacity, with a waiting list. The new building would enable the charity to support over 70 families each year, reaching more than 3,500 families over its lifetime, while creating a permanent local asset.

It would also strengthen Gingerbread’s financial sustainability. The charity currently spends around £180,000 each year on leases and service charges to external landlords. Owning its own building would allow this income, alongside Housing Benefit-funded rents, to be retained and reinvested into frontline services.

Gingerbread is seeking initial consultation and scoping support across development strategy, phasing, procurement, risk, design and technical input, cost planning, value engineering, financial modelling and project management. The charity is also keen to build in renewable energy, sustainability and eco-friendly adaptations wherever possible.

At this stage, the most valuable support would be a clear project roadmap, helping the charity understand priorities, sequencing, key risks and next steps. Gingerbread has initial build cost estimates, but would welcome a second professional opinion and a clearer breakdown of phasing and associated costs. This would strengthen its fundraising approach and help create a robust, investable proposition for partners.

Timeline

As soon as possible

About the organisation

Gingerbread Family Support has supported families in Stoke-on-Trent for nearly 49 years. Originally established to support single-parent families facing poverty and housing instability, it is now a specialist provider of accommodation and family support.

The charity works mainly in Stoke-on-Trent, one of England’s most deprived local authority areas. Many families it supports are affected by generational poverty, care experience, housing instability, low-paid or insecure work, and limited opportunities.

Gingerbread provides supported accommodation for teenage mums and families, mainly lone mothers, alongside help to access and sustain long-term housing. Its services include resettlement and tenancy support, one-to-one and group family support, parenting programmes, domestic abuse support, early help services, life skills and confidence-building, benefits and budgeting advice, online training, emotional wellbeing support and key worker support.

The charity’s work helps families move from crisis towards confidence and independence. Key outcomes include improved housing stability, reduced risk of repeat homelessness, stronger family wellbeing, increased parenting confidence, safer recovery from domestic abuse, improved life chances for children and reduced demand on crisis services.

http://www.gingerbreadcentre.co.uk/