“Somewhere you can go and keep warm and socialise for free”: investigating the impact of the St. Ann’s Warm Space on fuel poverty and social integration

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Hess, C ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9256-6786 and Machin, R ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2296-2123, 2024. “Somewhere you can go and keep warm and socialise for free”: investigating the impact of the St. Ann’s Warm Space on fuel poverty and social integration. Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

During the winter of 2022, over 500,000 people visited a warm space in the UK. More than 7,000 warm spaces were set up by voluntary sector and faith groups, libraries, and local authorities to support people facing spiralling fuel prices and the cost-of-living crisis.

This report presents the findings of a research project which focuses on a Warm Space established at St. Ann’s Advice Centre, Nottingham, UK. Given the limited knowledge of warm spaces, we aimed to understand the context in which they operate, the experiences of warm space attendees and to explore the role of a service provider.

We found that St. Ann’s Warm Space was an example of good practice, which responded to people’s multiple needs in various ways. It provided a refuge from the cold and addressed many of the vulnerabilities individuals were facing related to food and shelter. However, the Warm Space not only provided attendees with useful resources and advice which helped them to physically survive the winter, but also provided emotional support and a supportive community. We discovered that it functioned as an important “social space”, delivering community-based services, and helping to alleviate loneliness and strengthening support networks.

Item Type:	Research report for external body
Creators:	Hess, C. and Machin, R.
Publisher:	Nottingham Trent University
Place of Publication:	Nottingham
Date:	4 January 2024
Identifiers:	Number Type 2270052 Other
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	22 Sep 2025 12:28
Last Modified:	22 Sep 2025 12:28
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/54386