Key Takeaways
- Community "warm spaces" or "warm banks" have emerged across the UK as a response to the energy crisis, providing a warm and welcoming environment for people to socialize, access food and other essentials, and receive support.
- These spaces have become a vital lifeline for many, particularly those struggling with the cost of living, but there is concern that they may become a permanent fixture, rather than a temporary solution, and that they may distract from the need for systemic solutions to poverty.
- The rise of warm spaces is part of a broader trend of community-led initiatives aimed at addressing poverty and inequality, but there is a need for more strategic and systemic approaches to tackling the root causes of poverty.
- Warm spaces can provide a sense of community and belonging, as well as practical support, but they should not be seen as a replacement for government action to address the cost of living crisis.
Introduction to Warm Spaces
Fatma Mustafa began attending Walworth Living Room, a community project in south London, a few years ago, and it has become like a second home to her. The registered "warm space" is designed to feel like a living room, with comfy sofas, a communal table, activities, and food in a warm environment. Mustafa, 48, says that on universal credit, it is hard to cover bills and easy to fall into debt, but attending three days a week at Walworth Living Room cuts costs on energy and groceries. She has a pay-as-you-go energy meter, which is increasingly "just eating my money away," and she appreciates the food and company at the warm space.
The Rise of Warm Spaces
The Warm Welcome Campaign, an initiative from the Good Faith Foundation charity, reports that the number of registered warm hubs in the UK has risen from just over 4,000 in winter 2022-23 to almost 6,000 in 2025-26. However, there is discomfort among volunteers and anti-poverty charities about warm spaces becoming another entrenched part of the UK landscape that should be the government’s responsibility. Some call warm spaces a new austerity innovation that joins other kinds of charity "banks" – food banks, warm banks, baby banks, multibanks. Sabine Goodwin, the director of the Independent Food Aid Network, says that these types of charities have a positive impact but are "sticking-plaster, stopgap measures" rather than strategic interventions that tackle poverty’s root causes.
A Different Approach
Walworth Living Room is one warm space trying to operate differently. When the Guardian visited, people were sharing homemade food, knitting together, taking an English class, chatting, and drinking tea – some there for cost of living reasons, some not. Mike Wilson, the executive director of Pembroke House, the charity that runs Walworth Living Room, says that their aim is to build the type of neighborhood in which food banks and warm banks are not needed. Wilson emphasizes that the fact that people can’t afford to put food on their table or heat their homes is a scandal, and there need to be systemic solutions. He notes that there’s a tension between meeting immediate needs and building the power to come up with long-term solutions.
The Human Impact
For people like Nazma Khanom, 52, Walworth Living Room has been a lifeline during a traumatic period. Khanom was diagnosed with cancer in 2023 and has undergone a range of surgeries and treatments. She says that keeping up mortgage payments on personal independence payment (Pip) has been a struggle, and she turns on the heating for an hour a day. Khanom looks forward to attending Walworth Living Room every Thursday, where she can get out of the house, meet people, and engage in activities like knitting. She feels appreciated and welcomed, and the space has helped her cope with her illness. Margaret Regan, 81, attends Walworth Living Room for companionship, saying that it’s helped her meet new people and feel less isolated.
The Bigger Picture
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation published its cost of living tracker for winter 2025-26, which found that 58% of households with incomes in the bottom 40% had cut down on heating to reduce bills, and 51% cut spending on food due to affordability. David Barclay, the campaign director of the Warm Welcome Campaign, says that warm spaces cannot solve poverty’s systemic causes and that nobody wants to live in a country where people are forced to go to community spaces during the winter because otherwise they would be cold in their homes. Instead, his vision is of people choosing to go to community spaces to find belonging, purpose, and connection. Wilson hopes that community spaces like Walworth Living Room can help inform the national approach to tackling poverty and advocate for effective policy interventions.
Conclusion
As the cost of living crisis continues to affect many people in the UK, warm spaces like Walworth Living Room are providing vital support and community. However, there is a need for more systemic and strategic approaches to addressing poverty, rather than relying on temporary solutions like warm spaces. The government must take responsibility for addressing the root causes of poverty, rather than leaving it to community-led initiatives to plug the gaps. As Fatma Mustafa says, "It feels like the government isn’t really helping people… On UC they expect you to pay all your bills, but you can end up with bailiffs at your door. It’s hard." The rise of warm spaces is a symptom of a broader problem, and it’s time for a more comprehensive and sustainable solution.
