Are meanwhile spaces the solution for priced out communities?

Sister Midnight’s new venue in Catford, South East London

For most people in London, buying your own home is a distant dream. So imagine you wanted to purchase a music venue- an impossible dream, right?

But in the South East London Borough of Lewisham, almost 900 people came together to do exactly that, investing in a community share offer that has led to Sister Midnight getting ever closer to opening London’s first community owned music venue.

How are they doing it? In this case, the answer is meanwhile space.

What is meanwhile space?

So what is meanwhile space, and what opportunities does it present to community businesses, particularly those in urban areas with sky-high costs such as London?

Meanwhile space can be defined as the temporary use of a space, building or place whilst it is empty or awaiting long-term use perhaps yet to be decided. And that lack of permanence can come with benefits.

What’s the case for it?

Simply put, meanwhile space is cheaper than a freehold and most longer-term leaseholds. Many communities are priced out by the prohibitive cost of assets in their community, but a meanwhile space offers them the opportunity to test out an idea or strengthen their business model on a smaller budget. Meanwhile spaces often also come with lower risk, saving on time, money and stress if things don’t work out.

Meanwhile space can also be used to leverage support from local authorities. Although local authorities own only 3% of properties on the high street, these account for 10.3% of all vacant units. By demonstrating to your local council that there is a need for your product or service, it can put pressure on them to support you in finding a vacant space.

It can also present opportunities for marginalised communities with a lower average financial capital. Whereas the average community share offer raises £395 per investor, Friends of the Joiners Arms, a group looking to open a community-run queer venue in East London, raised an average of £56 from an incredible 2,260 investors. Although the £152,000 they raised wouldn’t get them close to securing freehold or long-term leasehold of a venue in their East London base, the raised funds are a starting point for them to pursue a meanwhile space and venue of their own.

…and the case against

It is important to recognise that a meanwhile space is not the same as owning a space or place. Uncertainty around lease lengths and a lack of longer-term security can impact community buy-in, and confidence in a community business’s success.

It can also impact a community business’s ability to access loan finance or grants. Due to their unreliable ownership model, funders and loan providers tend to be less keen on meanwhile spaces, meaning groups struggle to access institutional investment which can be vital to many community businesses.

Finally there is an argument to say that landlords, particularly local authorities, should be going a step further by supporting more communities to take on ownership of assets, rather than just meanwhile spaces. Positively, The Labour Party have voiced their support for rolling out Scotland’s Community Right to Buy more widely if they got into power, but there’s a lot more that can still be done.

Summary

Although meanwhile spaces are not without challenges, they do present a unique and relatively simple proposition on how to tackle increasing vacancy rates, and present opportunities for community groups who may be excluded from exploring other forms of asset ownership.

And what about Sister Midnight? Earlier this year they got their keys for London’s first community owned music venue- they hope to open in late 2023.

You can follow Sister Midnight Records, and support their currently live Community Share offer here, and you can follow Friends of the Joiners Arms quest to open the UK’s first community-run queer venue here