How to Open a Warm Space in Your Community This Winter

Every winter, some of your neighbours sit in coats indoors to save on heating, and some of them will not speak to another person all week. A warm space tackles both problems at once: a free, heated room where anyone can come in, have a hot drink and stay as long as they like, with no questions asked.

You do not need a charity number or a big budget to open one. Most of the warm spaces I have visited started with one person, a borrowed hall and a kettle. Here is how the ones that last actually got going, what they cost, and the mistakes worth avoiding.

What a warm space is and is not

A warm space is a public room that is open at set times through the cold months, usually November to March. People come in to keep warm, have tea or soup, charge a phone, read, chat or just sit quietly. It is free, and nobody has to explain why they are there.

It is not a shelter, a food bank or an advice service, though it often connects people to all three. Keeping that line clear protects your volunteers and sets honest expectations for visitors. If someone needs more than you can offer, your job is to know who to point them to.

How to open a warm space in five steps

1. Find a room that is already heated

The cheapest warm space is a building that is heated anyway. Church halls, community centres, libraries, sports club bars on weekday mornings and even a cafe with a quiet back room are all good options. Ask whether the owner would let you use the room for free or for a small donation, since the heating cost is already covered. One group I spoke to in Leeds pays 15 pounds a session for a scout hut that would otherwise sit empty.

2. Pick hours people can rely on

Two sessions a week of three hours each is a realistic start for a small team. Weekday afternoons from 1 to 4 pm suit older neighbours and people working from home, while a Saturday morning reaches families. Keep the same days and times for the whole season. A warm space that opens at random is one nobody can plan around.

3. Sort insurance and basic safety

Check whether the venue's public liability insurance covers your group. If not, small community group policies usually cost 60 to 150 pounds a year. Ask the venue about fire exits and the first aid kit, and keep a simple sign-in sheet for volunteers. If you plan to serve hot food regularly, speak to your council's environmental health team about whether you need to register. Tea, coffee and biscuits rarely need anything formal.

4. Recruit a small rota

Aim for at least two volunteers per session so nobody is ever alone with the door. Five or six people on a rota means each person does one session every fortnight or so. Ask for a commitment of a whole season rather than a loose promise to help when free.

5. Tell people the right way

Posters in the GP surgery, pharmacy, library and corner shop reach people who are not online. A note through doors on the nearest streets works better than any social media post. Use plain, welcoming wording such as "Free warm room, hot drinks, all welcome" and avoid words like "vulnerable" or "in need", which put people off.

What a season actually costs

Most groups run a full season for under 1,000 pounds, and many for under 300. Small community grants from councils and local funders often cover the whole lot.

Why "just open the doors" is not enough

A lot of guidance treats a warm space as a heated room and nothing more. In my experience, that is where many of them quietly fail. A cold hall with stacked chairs and a volunteer on a phone feels like a waiting room, and people do not come back.

The spaces that fill up have something to do and someone who says hello. A jigsaw on a table, a few newspapers, a board game, a phone charging station and a volunteer whose job is simply to greet people at the door make an enormous difference. One warm space in Bristol added a free soup lunch on Thursdays and went from four regular visitors to more than twenty within a month. People came for the soup and stayed for the company.

Warmth gets people through the door. Welcome is what brings them back.

Small touches that make people stay

• Arrange chairs around small tables, not in rows.
• Put out a box of donated scarves, hats and gloves people can take.
• Keep a printed list of local help: the nearest food bank, energy advice line and debt advice service.
• Offer a free phone charging point and the WiFi password on a card.
• Have one quiet corner for people who want to read without chatting.
• Learn names. Being remembered matters more than any amount of biscuits.

Keeping it going after the first winter

Many warm spaces that open in a burst of energy fizzle by February. The ones that last do a few things differently. They write down how the sessions work so a new volunteer can pick it up. They hold a short catch-up with the team in January. And they ask visitors what they would like, which often turns a warm space into something bigger, such as a year-round lunch club or a coffee morning.

If you doubt you are the right person to start this, read our stories of small community projects that started with one neighbour. Several of them began exactly like this. And if you think you have left it too late in life, starting a community project later in life might change your mind.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need permission to run a warm space?

You need permission from whoever owns the building, and you should check that insurance covers the activity. You do not usually need a licence to offer free tea and a warm room. If you plan to cook and serve meals regularly, ask your council whether you need to register as a food business.

Who can use a warm space?

Anyone. Good warm spaces are open to all, with no referral, no means test and no questions about why someone has come. That openness is what makes people comfortable walking in.

How many volunteers does a warm space need?

At least two per session, so nobody is ever on their own. A rota of five or six people is enough to run two sessions a week across a whole winter without anyone burning out.