What is the Social Bite Village?
The Social Bite Village in Edinburgh is an innovative, highly supported community run in partnership with Cyrenians. The purpose of the Village is to offer the right support, living environment and opportunities for up to 20 people affected by homelessness, to help them towards an independent life.
The Village is made up of 10 ‘Nest Houses’ – each shared by two residents plus an additional unit for staff. There is also a large, central Community Hub, which is the focus of community life – where residents can cook, eat and socialise together. The Hub is also the base for much of our training and support activities.
We built the Social Bite Village in Edinburgh in 2018 because the people we worked with told us that traditional forms of temporary accommodation didn’t help them to escape homelessness.
If hostels and B&Bs for people affected by homelessness didn’t work then, they certainly don’t today. As of March 2023, Edinburgh had more than twice the national rate of Scottish households in temporary accommodation. In October 2023, Edinburgh City Council declared a housing crisis.
Current approaches to ending homelessness clearly aren’t working – just like our friends were saying all those years ago. In 2018, the Social Bite Village was an experimental model for how supported accommodation could lift people out of homelessness. Today, with almost 100 former residents supported through the village, it’s proof that things can be done better.
Take a look at our video for more on how the Social Bite Village in Edinburgh came to be.
Support the Social Bite village
The success of the Edinburgh village has proven that with the right support and a safe place to call home, we can break the cycle of homelessness.
In summer 2025, the village must move to a new location. The buildings are designed for this, and we’re taking the opportunity to give some of them a refresh. Donate now to help continue the brilliant work of the village.
What is it like to live at the Village?
There is an active weekly timetable including opportunities ranging from yoga, ‘daily mile’, and bike rides, to a cooking club and DJ sessions. We anticipate Community members will live at the Village for approximately 12-18 months. Over this time, people will contribute to the life of the community, learn a range of new skills and engage in work and voluntary placements.
After 12-18 months, we will support residents into permanent accommodation and support them to make this transition ‘stick’. As each person moves on, a new Community Member will join to be supported and mentored by their fellow community members. Community Members are people who were previously living in temporary/emergency accommodation including homeless hostels and B&Bs.
The Village is designed to be an active and highly supportive community. We have engaged partners, Cyrenians, to provide a highly skilled and experienced staff and volunteer team at the Village. Staff and volunteers are crucial in providing positive role models to residents, running a health and wellbeing programme as well as being a consistent and supportive presence on site.
In addition, Hillcrest Housing Association is a partner in the project and provides a Housing Officer who manages each resident’s occupancy. Hillcrest also provide facilities management for the village, ensuring the buildings and site are maintained to the highest standard.
Social Bite believes that for a community to be truly transformational, it is fundamental that Community Members are involved in the shaping and forming of it, at every stage. The Social Bite Village is an experimental project, built upon the expertise and lived experience of those who have created similar developments. The Social Bite Village was built thanks to a massive collective effort from a range of companies and individuals, supplying everything from windows to project management expertise. The project spurred the public’s imagination and stands as a tangible symbol for hope and doing things differently.
Village Relocation
We’re delighted that Edinburgh City Council has approved the relocation of the Social Bite Village to a new site along the Granton Waterfront, less than a mile from the current location.
The decision to relocate was prompted by the planned end of the current lease on land donated by Edinburgh City Council. The original lease term was five years and later extended by an additional two years. Fortunately, the village’s pre-fabricated houses are designed for easy relocation, which has allowed us to make use of a “meanwhile site” that would otherwise have been unoccupied.
The new site was selected following a resident survey that identified local amenities, greenspace and continuity as important factors. It will include a brand new community hub building and seven of the redesigned and improved one-bedroom Nest Houses, which were also developed in response to resident feedback.
We’re working closely with Cyrenians, who have managed the village since its inception in 2018, to ensure a smooth transition for current residents.
