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Network of community spaces to provide support and opportunities

Fahad Redha

February 17, 2026
3 min read

Network of community spaces to provide support and opportunities

The Mayor of London has announced a network of community spaces to help provide “support and opportunities wherever they are across the capital.” The announcement comes after polling shows that 73% of Londoners think that community centres are important, while only 12% have visited their local community centre or hall. 55% of respondents said that more activities on offer would encourage them to visit.

Sadiq Khan and The National Lottery Community Fund have joined together to invest £1.8 million towards the network of community spaces to help “London’s diverse communities access more services and provide them with a space to join together and learn from each other at a time when loneliness and social isolation is increasing, and many of us are facing fear, hatred and division online and on our streets.”

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The spaces will host a variety of activities and provide support and advise, making it easier for people to become active parts of their community. This includes mentoring, weekly drop-in sessions, community meals, and support with digital inclusion. The spaces will also run activities to support mental health and wellbeing, help with English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) and multilingual support, and SEND and disability support.

“Bringing communities together in real life is crucial to building unity and cohesion, especially in an age where social media is increasingly being used as a weapon to spread division and hate,” says City Hall in a press release. “The Loved and Wanted Community Fund builds on the existing work of charities, faith groups and civil society organisations by bringing people of different backgrounds and faiths together, strengthening trust and social ties, building relationships across communities and breaking down barriers.”

The funding comes after local authority-run community spaces have decreased by nearly 10% between 2018 and 2023. The Loved and Wanted campaign was launched by the mayor last year, and the campaign has worked with over 140 organisations across the capital and previously helped distribute over £985,000 to communities through the Government’s Community Recovery Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund, including support for the Mayor’s Community Weekend which saw 200 community groups host events across the capital to bring Londoners of all backgrounds together.

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