Culture and Community Spaces at Risk

We undertake active casework, research and engagement to help inform best practice for protecting vital spaces valued by local communities. Our one-to-one casework support includes:

• brokering relationships with local authorities or other partners
• providing advocacy letters and lobbying decision-makers
• dispute mediation and negotiation
• research and evidence for local needs and London-wide context
• securing planning obligations
• support with navigating the planning system
• representations for planning or consultations
• fundraising and campaign support
• capacity building
• business continuity and sustainability support
• organisational planning and governance.

We also provide small, strategic funds for:

• legal fees for lease negotiations, planning representations, and other property related legal matters
• surveys and building valuations
• fundraising, campaigning and organising work
• in-depth community engagement/local contextual research
• bid writing
• specialised business support.

The aim of the Culture and Community Spaces at Risk programme is to protect at-risk spaces valued by local communities.

Your space should be used to deliver most or all of your organisation’s public-facing work.

Please note that your private accommodation cannot be considered as a space.

We will review and score applications on a rolling basis against the priorities below.

We will prioritise spaces that are:

• led-by and/or serving communities historically excluded from accessing and securing space, including: Black, Asian and minority ethnic, children and young people, Deaf and disabled people, LBGTQ+, low-income groups, older people and women-led groups
• contributing to community resilience by serving those most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis (including providing services to Londoners and protecting jobs)
• located in areas of London where there is a lack of, and demonstrated need for, this type of cultural or social infrastructure.

In a situation where many applications have similar scores, we will prioritise spaces that match the criteria above and:

• are supporting the Mayor’s strategy for social integration
• are well-established in the local area
• have a turnover of less than £1m per year
• are located in areas where the Civic Strength Index framework indicates public and social infrastructure is weaker
• are located in areas with high levels of deprivation according to English Indices of deprivation 2019.

Apply to the Culture and Community Spaces at Risk programme using our online application form.

If you need support to be able to complete the application form, please email [email protected]. We are happy to talk about other ways for you to apply to our programme. For example, you could email us a voice note or answer questions over the phone.

Our team will review and score your application against the criteria set out in ‘Who can apply?’ section.

We will aim to respond within two weeks from receiving your application. If you don’t hear from us by then, please email [email protected].

If your application is successful, a member of our team will contact you to schedule a meeting. This is so we can discuss how our team can work with you to help protect your organisation's at-risk space.