Self-managed social centres in the United Kingdom can be found in
squatted
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
, rented, mortgaged and fully owned buildings. These
self-managed social centres differ from
community centre
Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...
s in that they are self-organised under
anti-authoritarian
Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism, which is defined as "a form of social organisation characterised by submission to authority", "favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom" and ...
principles and volunteer-run, without any assistance from the state. The largest number have occurred in London from the 1980s onwards, although projects exist in most cities across the UK, linked in a network. Squatted social centres tend to be quickly evicted and therefore some projects deliberately choose a short-term existence, such as A-Spire in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
or the Okasional Café in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. Longer term social centres include the
1 in 12 Club
The 1 in 12 Club refers to both a members' club and the building in which it is based, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Owned and run by its membership as a collective based upon anarchist principles, its activities include social and po ...
in
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
, the
Cowley Club
The Cowley Club is a libertarian self-managed social centre in Brighton, England. It opened in 2003, providing resources and meeting spaces for groups and individuals active in areas such as workplace and unemployed struggles, international soli ...
in
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
and the
Sumac Centre
The Sumac Centre is a self-managed social centre in Nottingham, UK. It provides resources, meeting spaces and workshops for groups and individuals, and supports campaigning for human rights, animal rights, the environment, and peace. It is part of ...
in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
, which are co-operatively owned.
The projects draw influences from
self-managed centres in Italy,
working men's club
Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...
s, and anarchist clubs such as the
Rose Street Club
The Rose Street Club (sometimes the International Rose Street Club and earlier the Local Rights Association for Rental and Sanitary Reform) was a far-left, anarchist organisation based in what is now Manette Street, London. Originally centr ...
. Each individual social centre's activities are determined by its participants. Activities will often include some of the following: bar, bicycle repair workshop, café, cinema, concert venue,
exhibition space,
free shop
Give-away shops, freeshops, free stores or swap shops are stores where all goods are free. They are similar to charity shops, with mostly second-hand items—only everything is available at no cost. Whether it is a book, a piece of furniture, ...
,
infoshop
Infoshops are places in which people can access anarchist or autonomist ideas. They are often stand-alone projects, or can form part of a larger radical bookshop, archive, self-managed social centre or community centre. Typically, infoshops offer ...
, language classes, meeting space, migrant support and radical library.
History
Self-managed social centre
Self-managed social centers, also known as autonomous social centers, are self-organized community centers in which anti-authoritarians put on voluntary activities. These autonomous spaces, often in multi-purpose venues affiliated with anarchi ...
s in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
can trace their direct roots back to networking between the autonomy centres of the 1980s and early 1990s such as
121 Centre
121 Centre was a squatted self-managed social centre on Railton Road in Brixton, south London from 1981 until 1999. As an anarchist social centre, the venue hosted a bookshop, cafe, infoshop, library, meeting space, office space, printing fac ...
,
Centro Iberico
Centro Iberico, London, in the 1970s was a Spanish anarchist support centre, which after moving into a squatted school building in Notting Hill, London became a self-managed social centre, a live venue and a studio.
Origins
Centro Iberico was ini ...
,
Wapping Autonomy Centre
Wapping Autonomy Centre (also known as The Anarchist Centre) was a self-managed social centre in the London Docklands from late 1981 to 1982. The project was initially funded by money raised by the benefit single ''Persons Unknown''/''Bloody Re ...
,
Warzone and the still extant
1 in 12 Club
The 1 in 12 Club refers to both a members' club and the building in which it is based, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Owned and run by its membership as a collective based upon anarchist principles, its activities include social and po ...
in
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
. Other influences include the
Diggers
The Diggers were a group of religious and political dissidents in England, associated with agrarian socialism. Gerrard Winstanley and William Everard, amongst many others, were known as True Levellers in 1649, in reference to their split from ...
,
working men's club
Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...
s, the
Landless Workers' Movement
Landless Workers' Movement ( pt, Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra, MST) is a social movement in Brazil, inspired by Marxism, generally regarded as one of the largest in Latin America with an estimated informal membership of 1.5 millio ...
(MST) in Brazil, the
self-managed social centre
Self-managed social centers, also known as autonomous social centers, are self-organized community centers in which anti-authoritarians put on voluntary activities. These autonomous spaces, often in multi-purpose venues affiliated with anarchi ...
movement of Italy, and the occupied factories of Argentina. In addition to being inspired by European squatter movements, social centres follow in the tradition of anarchist clubs such as the
Rose Street Club
The Rose Street Club (sometimes the International Rose Street Club and earlier the Local Rights Association for Rental and Sanitary Reform) was a far-left, anarchist organisation based in what is now Manette Street, London. Originally centr ...
and the
utopian socialist
Utopian socialism is the term often used to describe the first current of modern socialism and socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Étienne Cabet, and Robert Owen. Utopian socialism is often de ...
communities set up by
Charles Fourier
François Marie Charles Fourier (;; 7 April 1772 – 10 October 1837) was a French philosopher, an influential early socialist thinker and one of the founders of utopian socialism. Some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical in ...
and
Robert Owen
Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He strove to improve factory working conditions, promoted e ...
in the 19th century.
A wave of social centres were opened in the 1990s, centred around a period of social movement activity which involved protesting against the
Criminal Justice Bill
Criminal Justice Act (with its many variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Canada, Malaysia, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom relating to the criminal law (including both substantive and procedural aspects of that ...
, the
Poll Tax
A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources.
Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...
and the government's road building plans. Likewise, places established in the 2000s were inspired by
Peoples' Global Action
Peoples' Global Action (PGA) was the name of a worldwide co-ordination of radical social movements, grassroots campaigns and direct actions in resistance to capitalism and for social and environmental justice. PGA was part of the anti-globalization ...
meetings and the
anti-globalization movement
The anti-globalization movement or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalis ...
.
The fledgling social centre network was profiled in 2008, in the pamphlet ''What's This Place?'' which was produced as part of the academic project Autonomous Geographies (funded by the
ESRC
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), formerly the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the UK government. ESRC provides fundi ...
). In 27 articles, different social centres presented their projects and reflected upon their successes and failures. Slightly earlier in the 2000s, there was also a debate about whether rented and owned spaces are a useful
anti-capitalist
Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economi ...
tactic, or not.
One view asserted that buying a social centre meant activists got bogged down by mundane activities such as business plans and mortgage applications. The counter-view stated the advantages to owning a place were longevity and stability.
Activities
![Cowley Club](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Cowley_Club.jpg)
What links these social centre projects together is the
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
principle of
self-management, which means they are self-organised and self-funding. They are
anti-authoritarian
Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism, which is defined as "a form of social organisation characterised by submission to authority", "favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom" and ...
and aim to show an alternative to
capitalist
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
modes of behaviour.
However, there is no single type of social centre. The aims and policies of individual projects are determined by those running them and shaped by local contexts.
This means that whilst every place is unique, functions will include some of the following: bar, bicycle repair workshop, café, concert venue,
exhibition space,
free shop
Give-away shops, freeshops, free stores or swap shops are stores where all goods are free. They are similar to charity shops, with mostly second-hand items—only everything is available at no cost. Whether it is a book, a piece of furniture, ...
,
infoshop
Infoshops are places in which people can access anarchist or autonomist ideas. They are often stand-alone projects, or can form part of a larger radical bookshop, archive, self-managed social centre or community centre. Typically, infoshops offer ...
, language classes, meeting space, migrant support, radical library.
The centres are connected in multiple ways. Sociologist Anita Lacey writes that "Actions, plans, ideas, and contacts are circulated via zines, at infoshops and stalls, and in social centres. Networks of activism develop and do not spontaneously emerge on the day of any given action; they emerge from the interaction of activists, in shared physical and/or emotional spaces."
Further, as well as being linked together, the centres provide concrete physical spaces for activists to meet and organise events and campaigns. Geographers Paul Chatterton and Stuart Hodkinson view social centres as part of the "broader 'autonomous movement,'" playing an "important role in the re-thinking and re-making 'citizenship' by bringing people together in spaces whose very reason for existence is to question and confront the rampant individualism of everyday life."
Some social centres are co-operatively owned, such as the 1 in 12 Club, Sumac Centre in Nottingham and the Cowley Club in Brighton. The latter two are members of
Radical Routes
Radical Routes is a UK-based network of housing co-ops. The organisation supports new and established co-ops through loan finance, training workshops, practical support, and national gatherings.
History
Radical Routes emerged in 1986 from a ne ...
.
An advantage of ownership is that those projects have a longer lifetime than squatted or rented projects.
Around the UK
In
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, the
Warzone Collective
Warzone Collective was formed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1984. It is an anarchopunk group which set up a self-managed social centre called Giro's in 1986. The project moved to a bigger premises in 1991 and became known as the Warzone Centre ...
formed in 1984, running an
anarchopunk
Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, hardcore ...
social centre between 1986 and 2003, and again between 2011 and 2018. The centre began with a café, a screen printing room and rehearsal spaces for bands. In the 2010s, it hosted gigs and still had a vegan café.
In
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
there was the squatted Aardvark Centre in the 1990s.
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
has the long-running
1 in 12 Club
The 1 in 12 Club refers to both a members' club and the building in which it is based, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Owned and run by its membership as a collective based upon anarchist principles, its activities include social and po ...
. Over several floors it has a bar, café, library, recording studio and venue. In
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, the
Cowley Club
The Cowley Club is a libertarian self-managed social centre in Brighton, England. It opened in 2003, providing resources and meeting spaces for groups and individuals active in areas such as workplace and unemployed struggles, international soli ...
was founded in 2002 and has a bar, bookshop, café, infoshop, library, meeting space and music venue. Above it there is a
housing co-operative
A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity, usually a cooperative or a corporation, which owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings; it is one type of housing tenure. Housing cooperatives are a distinc ...
.
There have also been many squatted projects in Brighton such as
Medina House and the Sabotaj squat, which was a
protest
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.
Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
against supermarket expansion.
BASE (Base for Anarchy & Solidarity in Easton), formerly Kebele, was squatted
Easton, Bristol
Easton is an inner city area of the city of Bristol in the United Kingdom. Informally the area is considered to stretch east of Bristol city centre and the M32 motorway, centred on Lawrence Hill. Its southern and eastern borders are less define ...
in 1995, initially as housing for homeless people before it became a social centre. A housing co-operative was formed to run the building and the mortgage was paid off in 2005. In 2008, a community co-operative took over the building and the name was changed. The centre contains a radical library, art room, apothecary and bike space.
The Red and Black Umbrella collective occupied the Tredegar Hotel pub in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
in 2011.
The building had stood empty since 2006, when it had its licence revoked and was shut down by the council.
The social centre existed until 2015. In 2019, a community arts space called Gentileza was founded on Duke Street.
The George's X Chalkboard project ran in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
from September 2005 to September 2006 and since 2016, there is the Glasgow Autonomous Space.
Also in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, the
Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh
The Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh, also known as ACE, is an infoshop and autonomous social centre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1997, although it follows on from previous groups.
Antecedents
ACE formed out of the Edinburgh Unemploye ...
(ACE) was founded in 1997 and the
Forest Café
The Forest, also referred to as Forest Café, was an independent social centre and arts centre located in central Edinburgh, Scotland. It was notable for being run by volunteers as a charitable, self-sustaining not-for-profit. Forest café was ...
was set up in 2000. In 2000, ACE provided meeting space for these groups: Autonomous Women of Edinburgh, Angry Youth, Edinburgh Animal Rights, Youth Solidarity Group, the Mutiny Collective and Prisoners’ Support, May Day Edinburgh, activists opposing the
Terrorism Act 2000
The Terrorism Act 2000 (c.11) is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland (Emer ...
.
The still extant Initiative Factory (also known as CASA) was set up in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
following the
dockers' strike in order to provide free community services. It was estimated in 2015 that the group had supplied advice to the value of £15 million. A spokesperson said in 2008 "the guiding principles are that we’ve never shirked the fact that we’re a socialist organisation, our principles are founded out of the struggle of workers. So that will never change. It’s to help people in poverty, promote education for workers and for people in need." Liverpool also has the News from Nowhere, a radical and community bookshop, with the Next to Nowhere social centre in a basement underneath it.
The Partisan collective acquired a building on Cheetham Hill Road in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
as a social space and concert venue in 2017. Partisan follows in the tradition of the Basement (2005–2008) and Subrosa (2013–15).
The Star and Shadow community cinema began in Stepney Bank in
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
in 2006 and since 2018 is based on Warwick Street.
It is run by volunteers and screens a variety of films. It aims to support self-organised activities and there is a vegetarian café every Sunday.
The
Sumac Centre
The Sumac Centre is a self-managed social centre in Nottingham, UK. It provides resources, meeting spaces and workshops for groups and individuals, and supports campaigning for human rights, animal rights, the environment, and peace. It is part of ...
building was bought in June 2001 in
Forest Fields
Forest Fields is an inner-city area of the City of Nottingham, in the county of Nottinghamshire, England.
Geography
Forest Fields is slightly north of the city centre, just past the Forest Recreation Ground. The area includes 31 streets from ...
,
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
. Formed out of a previous project called the Rainbow Centre, the Sumac provides a meeting space for groups and a base for
Veggies Veggies may refer to:
* Vegetables, often called veggies
* Veggies, the characters in ''VeggieTales'', an American series of children's films
* Veggies of Nottingham, a catering company based in Nottingham, UK
* Casey Veggies
Casey Joseph Jon ...
catering, which is run as a non-profit
workers co-operative.
London
The
Wapping Autonomy Centre
Wapping Autonomy Centre (also known as The Anarchist Centre) was a self-managed social centre in the London Docklands from late 1981 to 1982. The project was initially funded by money raised by the benefit single ''Persons Unknown''/''Bloody Re ...
was an early social centre experiment. It was located in a warehouse which was rented between 1981 and 1983 by
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
punks
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture ...
. Bands such as
Crass
Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk s ...
,
Zounds
Zounds are an English anarcho punk/post-punk band from Reading, Berkshire, England, formed in 1977. Originally they were part of the cassette culture movement, releasing material on the Fuck Off Records label, and were also involved in the s ...
and
Flux of Pink Indians
Flux of Pink Indians was an English punk rock band from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England, active between 1980 and 1986.
Biography
The band formed in Hertfordshire, England in 1980 from the remaining members of The Epileptics (who ...
played there.
Examples of long-term squatted and now evicted projects include the
491 Gallery,
RampART
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...
and the
Spike Surplus Scheme. The
121 Centre
121 Centre was a squatted self-managed social centre on Railton Road in Brixton, south London from 1981 until 1999. As an anarchist social centre, the venue hosted a bookshop, cafe, infoshop, library, meeting space, office space, printing fac ...
was first squatted by
Olive Morris
Olive Elaine Morris (26 June 1952 – 12 July 1979) was a Jamaican-born British-based community leader and activist in the feminist, black nationalist, and squatters' rights campaigns of the 1970s. At the age of 17, she claimed she was assaul ...
and existed as a social centre for 18 years in Brixton, before being evicted in 1999. There was a bookshop, café, gig and rehearsal space, printing facility, office and meeting space. It also provided space for groups such as the radical women's magazine Bad Attitude, AnarQuist (the anarcho-queer group), Brixton Squatters' Aid and the prisoner support group
Anarchist Black Cross
The Anarchist Black Cross (ABC), formerly the Anarchist Red Cross, is an anarchist support organization. The group is notable for its efforts at providing prisoners with political literature, but it also organizes material and legal support for c ...
.
The Rainbow Centre was a squatted church in Kentish Town and there was also the Hackney Squatters Centre.
The still extant infoshop at 56A Crampton Street in
Elephant & Castle
The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground stati ...
began in 1991, inspired by both European infoshops and local squatting movement in
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
.
There are also many examples of squatted projects which did not last very long, since the owner quickly regained possession, for example the
Bloomsbury social centre
Bloomsbury Social Centre was the name given to a building in Bloomsbury, London, which was squatted as a Self-managed social centres in the United Kingdom, self-managed social centre by students in affiliation with Occupy London, and the global ...
and the
Bank of Ideas
The Bank of Ideas was a squatted, self-managed social centre in a disused UBS office complex on Sun Street in the City of London, England. It remained in the building from November 2011 until January 2012. The building was owned by UBS, and th ...
, which was connected to
Occupy London
Occupy London was a political movement in London, England, and part of the international Occupy movement. While some media described it as an "anti-capitalist" movement, in the statement written and endorsed by consensus by the Occupy assembly i ...
. In the 2000s, there was a series of projects squatted by people connected to
Reclaim the Streets
Reclaim the Streets also known as RTS, are a collective with a shared ideal of community ownership of public spaces. Participants characterise the collective as a resistance movement opposed to the dominance of corporate forces in globalisa ...
and the
WOMBLES
''The Wombles'' are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures created by Elisabeth Beresford and originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. They live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycl ...
, such as the Radical Dairy, Grand Banks and Institute for Autonomy.
The Really Free School occupied four buildings in central London in 2011, including a Fitzrovia mansion owned by
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr.
Ritchie left school at age 15 and wor ...
. They put on free workshops and lectures.
Since both buying a property and squatting a place have become more difficult in the 2010s, as a result of
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
and the criminalisation of squatting in residential buildings under the 2012
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) is a statute of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted by the coalition government of 2010-2015, creating reforms to the justice system. The bill for the act was intro ...
, some projects have decided to rent a space, for example
DIY Space For London. A spokesperson said “We need a friendly landlord and about 2,000 ground-floor square feet, near to accessible transport, which is a tall order given the crazy cost of renting in London.”
Currently in 2019, alongside the 56A Infoshop and the
London Action Resource Centre
The London Action Resource Centre (LARC) is an anarchist infoshop and self-managed social centre situated in Whitechapel, in the East End of London. Previously a school and a synagogue, it was purchased in 1999. It hosts meetings and events fro ...
, active London projects include the Common Place in
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...
, DeCentre at
Freedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
in
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
and the Mayday Rooms on
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...
.
Occasional centres
There are also groups which choose to do short-term squatted events lasting a fixed time so as to mitigate the difficulties of long term occupation. Such groups may exist for years and do a series of events, for example: A-Spire (Leeds),
Temporary Autonomous Arts (London, Sheffield, Brighton, Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff), Anarchist Teapot (Brighton)
or the OKasional Café (Manchester). The Okasional café did a number of events in the late 1990s and early 2000s, reforming for two weeks in 2010.
Focus E15
Focus E15 is a campaign group formed in London in 2013 by a group of mothers threatened with eviction from their emergency accommodation in a hostel for young homeless people in Newham. The group squatted empty flats on the Carpenters Estate i ...
occupied flats on the
Carpenters Estate
The Carpenters Estate is located in Stratford, Newham, East London, close to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The estate is formed of low rise social housing and three tower blocks. The estate has been continually earmarked for demolition and re ...
in east London for several weeks in 2014 and used one flat as a social centre.
List of current projects
This sortable list of notable current social centres in the United Kingdom was last updated in March 2022.
List of former projects
This sortable list of notable former social centres in the United Kingdom was last updated in March 2022.
Networks
London Social Centres Network
The London social centres network existed in the 2000s with a discussion list and newsletter.
This then continued until 2011 with the Autonomous London blog.
Social Centre Network UK/WISE
There was a gathering of social centres at the
1 in 12 Club
The 1 in 12 Club refers to both a members' club and the building in which it is based, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Owned and run by its membership as a collective based upon anarchist principles, its activities include social and po ...
in January 2007.
After several years of inactivity, the
Sumac Centre
The Sumac Centre is a self-managed social centre in Nottingham, UK. It provides resources, meeting spaces and workshops for groups and individuals, and supports campaigning for human rights, animal rights, the environment, and peace. It is part of ...
in Nottingham hosted a relaunch of the UK Social Centre Network in November 2014.
The network met again in April 2015 at the Next to Nowhere social centre in Liverpool and became known as the "Social Centre Network of UK and Ireland." Another gathering of the Social Centre Network was held in September 2018 at GAS in Glasgow.
The network is now known as the Social Centre Network of Wales, Ireland, Scotland, England.
See also
*
Advisory Service for Squatters
The Advisory Service for Squatters (A.S.S.) is a non-profit group based in London and run by volunteers. It aims to provide practical advice and legal support for squatters. It was founded in 1975, having grown out of the Family Squatters Adviso ...
*
Ecovillages
An ecovillage is a traditional or intentional community with the goal of becoming more socially, culturally, economically, and/or ecologically sustainable. An ecovillage strives to produce the least possible negative impact on the natural envi ...
*
Self-managed social centres in Italy
Self-managed social centres in Italy exist in many cities. They are part of different left-wing political networks including anarchist, communist, socialist, and autonomist. The Self-managed social center, centres (Italiano, Italian: centri soc ...
*
List of self-managed social centres
Self-managed social centers are community spaces which often feature music venues, infoshops, bicycle workshops and free schools. In French, they are termed espace autogéré and in Italian Centro Sociale Autogestito (CSA), or Centro Sociale Occ ...
References
Further reading
* Atton, Chris (2010) ''Alternative Media'' Sage
* Franks, Benjamin (2006) ''Rebel Alliances: The Means and Ends of British Anarchisms'' AK Press
* Meltzer, Albert (1996) ''I Couldn't Paint Golden Angels: Sixty Years of Commonplace Life and Anarchist Agitation'' AK Press
External links
Current social centre network e-listCurrent social centre network websiteDefunct social centre network websiteOrganise! Magazine map of UK social centresRadical events agenda
{{SquatE&W
Advocacy groups in the United Kingdom
Community organizing
Social centres in the United Kingdom
Anarchism in the United Kingdom
Infoshops