Report Highlights Learning from the Welcome Spaces Scheme

For the last two winters, groups and organisations across Leeds have come together to welcome people during the colder months. Welcome Spaces (formerly Warm Spaces) was a scheme that saw over 160 voluntary, community and faith sector organisations and Leeds City Council Hubs and Library buildings, open their doors to people across many different communities.

Councillor Mary Harland, Leeds City Council’s executive member for communities, customer service and community safety, said: “These Welcome Spaces have proved to be a great initiative for Leeds, not just in ensuring people have somewhere warm to go, but also to create a sense of community“.

What was first thought of as simply a warm space to go for people impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and struggling to heat their homes, soon became a more integral part of the community offer. Welcome Spaces reported that loneliness was often a reason for people to visit and many also ran activities in the hours that they were open.

Voluntary Action Leeds have worked with Leeds City Council to produce this report which outlines the scheme’s achievements and makes recommendations should funding be secured for the project to continue this winter.

“Welcome Spaces has become a key part of the city’s offer to communities and so it’s vital that we build on our learning for future years” said Hannah Bailey – Chief Officer at VAL. “Working with Leeds Community Anchor Network supported more effective allocation of funding to local groups, ensuring close partnership working in each area of the city. As we begin to look ahead to the autumn and winter, we will be working with partners to make sure the learning outlined in this report influences our future work.”

Cllr Harland went on to comment “We are looking forward to taking away learnings from this report on how we can keep these spaces going in the future.”

You can find the report here –Welcome Spaces Learning 2324

Voluntary Action Leeds