Our Story
Making space for sustainability, creativity and community in the UK’s least affordable city
Space in Oxford is hard to come by
Truly affordable space in Oxford is non-existent. In 2015, a small group of community-led and socially-driven organisations, struggling to find the space in which to fix, build, work and make an impact, came together to try a new approach. They formed Makespace Oxford, a Community Interest Company to find innovative ways of bringing empty and underused buildings back into community use.
Space in Oxford is hard to come by
Truly affordable space in Oxford is non-existent. In 2015, a small group of community-led and socially-driven organisations, struggling to find the space in which to fix, build, work and make an impact, came together to try a new approach. They formed Makespace Oxford, a Community Interest Company to find innovative ways of bringing empty and underused buildings back into community use.
In 2018 Makespace Oxford opened in a North Oxford building owned by Wadham College and awaiting redevelopment in Aristotle Lane. Forty social enterprises, workers cooperatives, small charities and creative individuals are now working from Aristotle Lane.
The building is a catalyst, a question and a demand to make space for sustainability, creativity and community. It’s also a vibrant hub for community action, a place where new partnerships begin and ideas come to life.
Makespace Oxford CIC is a collaboration between Transition by Design, Aspire Oxford, The Community Action Group (Oxfordshire) and the Broken Spoke Bike Co-op. We’re now looking for new buildings, new opportunities to bring empty, underused and unloved structures back to life for the benefit of the local community. If you know of space like this then we’d love to hear from you.
Get in Touch
Our Community
Aspire Oxford
Founding Partner
Providing services and creating opportunities for the long-term unemployed
Solidarity Economy Association
A co-op delivering research & education for developing a just & democratic alternative to capitalism
Oxford Weaving Studio
Textile design studio handweaving interior textiles and offering weaving workshops
Zelga Miller
Arist whose work combines a narrative rich with questions of memory, movement and transition.
Bespoke Alterations Oxford
General alterations, wedding dress services, suit tailoring & repairs.
Share Oxford, a Library of Things
A community library of useful things for borrowing and re-use.
In-Spire Sounds
Charity providing recording studio facilities, production, and industry advice.
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