A vital research, advocacy & collaborative learning network for all things related to physical COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE & green spaces.

If you agree with our aims, take 3 minutes to sign up for free today. Your supportive voice gives us collective power to demand fairer infrastructure access and provision for all.

By joining London Community Infrastructure Network (LCIN), you are joining a growing network of peers striving for the same vital physical infrastructure resources. Our sector needs free or very lost cost access to:

- Accessible delivery venues

- Office spaces

- Training spaces 

- Secure, accessible storage

-Infrastructure for resilience & emergency preparedness - If London were to experience another pandemic, emergency or disaster, how can the Voluntary sector mobilise without a network of suitable, geographically spread, accessible spaces.

We need to hear your experiences to prove the exact challenges our sector faces today, to convince changemakers.

By signing up, you can help us map:

- Space barriers and gaps: Your current struggles finding accessible, affordable rooms and stages.

- Implications on delivery: How a lack of space limits your delivery and hurts your community.

Join the network please take a few minutes to sign up here https://tally.so/r/obgaAb

AIMS

• Map available spaces, for free, low cost, subsidised, storage, office space, community venues & green spaces.

• Collaborate with commercial businesses, local authorities & other organisations to achieve shared goals & aims for our communities by unlocking underutilised free or very low cost spaces. To enable our sector to better serve our residents and communities in need.

• Share learning specifically around community infrastructure & CIL Community Infrastructure Levy funding/Section 106 to support the unlocking of social value, to help build stronger communities for all.

• Create opportunities, where projects and groups may want to link up in partnership to share liabilities and overheads, or on low cost rent and peppercorn leases.

The postcode lottery

A neighbourhood postcode lottery, currently determines if and where services can be provided for communities.

This excludes people, such as those with seen and unseen disabilities from being able to access Creative Health & Physical Health provision, increases isolation and inhibits cohesion.

This directly prevents our sector’s ability to foster cohesion, tackle isolation and reduce health inequalities to achieve better health outcomes for all.

If you wish to contact us please send an email to londoncommunityinfrastructure@gmail.com

Helpful if you can confirm:

• Name, role & organisation.

• Location(s)

• Whether you are looking for a space - office, storage, venues?

• If you are offering use of an available, underutilised space, location, type of space, days and times? (Free or very low cost)

• Looking to share, gain knowledge, support the community sector campaign or volunteer for us.

Key areas of focus:

• The NHS 10 year plan emphasises prevention & key role of theVoluntary sector in reducing health inequalities and better life outcomes.

• LCIN & WIILMA strongly believes every person regardless of their seen or unseen disability and socioeconomic background has a right to access creative health, physical health & green spaces to reduce health inequalities and increase better health outcomes.

• This cannot be achieved unless voluntary sector, social value organisations have access to:

• Accessible, fit for purpose, visually uplifting, Creative Health - community arts spaces with stages, sound,lighting and seating for music, dance and theatre performances & creative learning.

• Office spaces/volunteer training spaces

• Storage Spaces

• Use of an address - to be eligible for many grant funding opportunities there can be a requirement for a fixed business address.

• Resilience & Emergency Planning - If London were to experience another pandemic, emergency or disaster, how can the VCS mobilise without a network and suitable geographical spread of accessible spaces? Especially as disabled people are disproportionately impacted, how can their needs be prioritised?

• Equitable Access to Accessible Arts Spaces for all - Every person with disabilities has a right to be able to access arts provision, accessible spaces with stages, lighting & sound are increasingly scarce, what can be done?

• Providing a forum through which commercial businesses, public sector and other organisations can find it easier to unlock social value and offer available, underutilised, free or very low cost storage/office spaces to support their local communities.

• Continuation and expansion of Peppercorn Leases

• Identifying organisations with long term peppercorn leases, who could potentially unlock additional social value by sharing spaces which may not be in constant use, or at different times, sharing operational overheads with other grassroots, social value projects to build sustainability.

• Greater understanding and use of Community Asset Transfers to benefit local communities.

• For community projects, groups & practitioners to share & develop, learning & research on challenges to equitable access to accessible spaces across London boroughs. With a first phase emphasis on the North East London/Olympics legacy zone expanding across London.

For a faster reply please copy in info@wiilma.org and put “LONDON COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE” in the Subject header.

WIILMA is a grassroots community support & cohesion organisation, we launched this initiative in response to an identified need.