The ask
Help us keep the keys in community hands.
We need £2,400 every month to secure the lease — the first step towards buying the building outright.
Being honest with you
Why we changed our minds
Where we started
We set out to sublet the space to prove it was viable — and it worked. We have people subletting right now, real proof of interest. But it's chicken-and-egg: the other spaces aren't sublettable yet either, since they need investment before anyone can rent them. It left our grounding a bit scattered, without a clear collective centre.
Where we've landed
We also realised something important: we couldn't make the big calls — buying the building, taking out a mortgage, deciding the garage's future — on behalf of a community that hadn't actually been formed yet. We are not the community. A real community association is. So we went back to scratch.
You — the people who join us, and who'll ultimately co-own this together — are the foundation. Not a funding mechanism propping one up. Members are the whole point, and the voice, and the movement moves forward as a collective from the get-go, because of that. Sublet income now goes directly toward the renovation instead of the lease — the lease is something we hold together, as members.
Some of us worried that asking straight-up for lease money would put people off. Turns out asking you to be a member, a voice, and a co-owner feels so much more hearty, inclusive, and aligned with our founding aim — to create a community-owned hub for and with the people who share our ethos. We trust that those who see, feel, and know we need this won't need to be persuaded. If you know, you know, and you're so welcome to share and work toward our collective vision.
Got thoughts on this change of direction?
Become a Member
Start with a suggested £10 a month, or choose what works for you. Every contribution goes into one shared pot, pointed at the plan to develop the spaces in the order that makes most sense — the lease first, then the rooms as they come.
You’ll also hear us talk about Guardians. That isn’t a separate sign-up: Guardians are members who’ve stepped up as genuine co-founders, with real governance input, alongside a smaller elected board handling the legal day-to-day. Everyone starts in the same place — as a member.
- Access to regular groups and socials
- Monthly use of the garage for you and your family
- A real vote and a seat in shaping what this becomes
Plain speaking
Your contribution is a gift to the project, not an investment or loan. There is no guaranteed financial return. What you get back is real — community, use, and a voice — but it isn’t a financial entitlement.
Yes, we know. It doesn’t look like much yet.
But we’re going to change that — and this is what’s coming. More members means progress faster, a stronger case for a community mortgage sooner, and breathing room to focus on what matters.
