London, December 01, 2025
The UK’s Warm Spaces initiative has become a crucial grassroots response to the ongoing energy affordability crisis, providing free heated venues for vulnerable individuals across winter months to counter soaring home heating costs. Supported by community groups and significant public and private funding, these spaces help millions facing fuel poverty.
Warm spaces—community-run facilities such as churches, libraries, and community centres—serve as vital refuges for people unable to afford heating in their own homes. Since their emergence in response to the UK’s cost-of-living crisis, these venues have opened doors nationwide during colder seasons, offering not only warmth but also social connection and support services.
Recent data illustrates the scale and impact of the initiative. More than half of warm space visitors, over 50%, stated they would otherwise remain at home without heating, underscoring the program’s direct role in mitigating fuel poverty. Over 14.4 million people in the UK live in poverty, and the warm spaces campaign unites thousands of organisations in addressing this widespread vulnerability.
Significant funding and community backing underpin the movement. The Co-operative Group launched a £1 million warm spaces fund in December 2022 via a match-funding scheme with Crowdfunder. Complementing this, the National Lottery Community Fund awarded over 100 grants, and the Warm Welcome Campaign distributed close to £300,000 in targeted small grants to areas with highest deprivation. Local authorities and community foundations are also facilitating bespoke funding structures to sustain local spaces.
Beyond providing warmth, the initiative delivers substantial mental health and social benefits. Surveys from 2023/24 report that 87% of guests felt attending these spaces improved their mental well-being. These venues act as community hubs where visitors access hot drinks, companionship, safety, and various support services, fostering social inclusion alongside physical warmth.
Looking ahead, warm spaces face notable sustainability challenges amid escalating energy bills for community organisations themselves. Funders emphasize the importance of improving energy efficiency to enable ongoing operation. Capital funders are working to leverage government schemes for upgrading facilities, reducing operating costs and environmental impact.
A collaborative funding approach is also under consideration—potentially a match fund accessible nationally that helps these spaces not only with direct resources but also in boosting local awareness and fundraising efforts. This would complement local authority initiatives already developing tailored funding ecosystems.
The warm spaces movement extends beyond a temporary winter response, reflecting deeper societal concerns about energy poverty, housing quality, and systemic social inequalities. This community-led effort highlights the critical role grassroots mobilisation can play in supporting vulnerable populations when economic pressures intensify.
With energy costs projected to remain elevated, these warm spaces are likely to be essential in forthcoming winters. Continued collaboration and sustainable funding models will be key to ensuring the initiative can maintain its vital support, addressing both immediate needs and longer-term social challenges related to energy access and inclusion.