A place of worship has secured £100,000 in grant money to build new prefabricated living spaces on its grounds.

Cowley St John Parochial Church in East Oxford is among only eight schemes across the United Kingdom to receive backing from the national homelessness charity St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity through its new Access to Accommodation Fund.

This initiative supports community-based organisations in creating and developing innovative housing solutions.

Reverend Martha Weatherill, vicar of Cowley St John, explained that the church was originally built 150 years ago to serve those at the edges of society, and the congregation is maintaining that mission.

While Oxford is renowned for academia and its historic spires, many young people in East Oxford fail to complete their secondary schooling.

Rates of homelessness remain high. The church owns land that has sat idle, and converting this into homes could profoundly change lives.

The possibility that this project could provide a blueprint for similar efforts elsewhere is especially encouraging, the vicar noted.

The congregation plans to install four prefabricated homes on vacant land along Magdalen Road.

Every dwelling will feature a single bedroom, a bathroom and fully equipped cooking facilities, and will be allocated to individuals who are homeless.

Construction is expected to begin within the next six months, with the homes completed within a year.

This represents the first occasion in Oxford where unused church land has been converted into accommodation for homeless people.

The properties will also offer residents full support services.

Cowley St John Parochial Church was chosen from nearly 100 applicants.

Assessment criteria included the scheme’s ability to produce housing, its understanding of the challenges faced by homeless people, its involvement of individuals with lived experience in the planning and delivery, and its potential for being rolled out in other areas.

Duncan Shrubsole, chief executive of St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity, said community homelessness organisations are tackling the frontline of the housing crisis, dealing with growing need and mounting difficulties in finding affordable, suitable accommodation for vulnerable people.

He expressed hope that this project demonstrates that new housing solutions remain viable and will encourage government, councils and other funders to back comparable schemes so more people can have a stable, secure place to live.

According to the charity’s annual survey of outreach workers, 83 percent reported difficulties finding suitable housing for homeless individuals.

At the same time, 55 percent stated the situation had worsened over the previous year.