There will be Hillel accommodation for Jewish students in Manchester from next month after a four-year gap.
The Hillel is a semi-detached property in Fallowfield, south Manchester, which has been purchased and is being renovated at a cost of £250,000. It will offer places for five students.
Its subsidised rent of £60 per week is around £20 below the cost of other local student accommodation.
The previous Hillel was a victim of declining Jewish student numbers and an unpopular location, Hulme.
But Fallowfield is considered the centre of Jewish student life, with many social and religious activities taking place in the refurbished South Manchester Synagogue.
Dr Neil Joseph, who chairs the Hillel House Manchester committee, said potential residents who could not afford the rent might qualify for financial assistance from the charity.
“It’s being refurbished as we speak. The garden was only finished this week and the skip from outside has just been taken away. It will be a lively place. It’s right in the heart of student life. And it’s on a crescent, so it’s nice and quiet.
“The purpose-built kosher kitchen opens on to an extended dining area, with an adjacent area in the large garden specially prepared as a base for a succah.” Three of the five rooms are still available.
Manchester Hillel committee is run autonomously by Jewish volunteers in the city, with support from the national UJS Hillel network.
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