UK Social Centre Network

The UK Social Centre Network is a grass roots initiative to establish a network between self identified radical independent social and community centres in the United Kingdom. There is no single policy statement but clearly a general desire to improve communication and co-operation between the growing number of autonomous spaces "to share resources, ideas and information".^[1] Self selected participants draw a clear distinction between their radical autonomous spaces on one side and the state or large NGO sponsored community centres on the other. While there has been something of a tradition of social spaces in occupied buildings (also known as squatting), recent years have seen an upsurge in the creation of social centres in rented or purchased buildings. The network of social centres network in the UK is very much in its infancy compared to some other places in Europe such as Holland, Italy and Spain.

List of social centres

Occasional/Evicted Social Centres

• Matilda, Sheffield
• Peoples Autonomous Destination (PAD), Cardiff
• A-Spire, Leeds
• Mill Road Social Centre, Cambridge
• OKasional Cafe, Manchester

Resource Centres

• Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
• Lancaster Resource Centre, Lancaster
• Blackcurrent Centre, Northampton
• Oxford Action Resource Centre, Oxford
• 56@ Infoshop, London
• London Action Resource Centre, London
• Bradford Resource Centre, Bradford
• The Forest - A social centre and arts space in Edinburgh

External links

• Social Centres Network Website
• Social Centre Network Newsgroup
• Indymedia UK Free Spaces section
• Advisory Service for Squatters

References