19/10/2026
Last week, at our Community Spaces in Oxford event, we heard from members of brilliant community organisations doing the work in our neighbourhoods. Groups like Oxford Mutual Aid, Mandala Theatre, In-Spire Sounds, and Cutteslowe Community Centre.
And, in the words of our director, Andy Edwards...
"Together this was a gesture to the future we are building together: high streets and neighbourhoods alive with climate justice hubs, mutual aid groups, youth arts, youth music and youth theatre projects and community hubs networked through resource sharing and support.
But these projects remain outliers, breaking through the cracks of a broken system. Often made possible due to the vision, tenacity and sacrifice of a few individuals, despite the system, not enabled by it.
Makespace, as much as any organisation in Oxfordshire, knows the challenges of bringing vacant, underused space or land of any kind into community use ownership and community stewardship.
And if there’s one thing we’ve learned in the last 10 years of working across collaborations and partnerships, none of our work would have been possible without collaborations across different parts of the land and property system."
Want to read more? Head over to our Substack:
Excerpt from my presentation as part of the forum on Strengthening Oxford’s Community Spaces, October 2026.
