25 February 2022 – One year after its launch, an innovative pilot scheme from Oxford City Council and Makespace Oxford to transform the use of vacant shops across Oxfordshire is being studied by other councils. Initially launched in February 2021, the £1.875m “Meanwhile in Oxfordshire…” programme has been so successful in its first year that other local […]
Since we launched the ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire’ programme, we’ve received over 315 applications for space from local businesses, organisations and individuals across the county. This number underlines the huge amount of demand there is for affordable workspace, as well as a wider issue in the commercial rental market across Oxfordshire. These are exactly the problems we’re trying […]
15 November 2021 – Four empty units in Oxford City Council’s Covered Market have now been transformed into pop-up shops for local, purpose-led retailers ahead of the festive season. The ‘meanwhile’ or short-term use of these spaces is part of Makespace Oxford’s ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire’ programme, commissioned by the City Council, which seeks to reanimate space in […]
If you’ve spent any time around Frideswide Square recently, you might have seen a vibrant splash of colour in one of the shop windows. This mural was by local artist Eleanor Greenhalgh, known as Nor. Against backgrounds of yellow, red and grey, the work featured abstracted figures embracing each other. In some of the individual figures sat […]
In light of Black History Month, we wanted to share few resources that we’ve found helpful in recent weeks.
You may have heard the news last month, but in case you missed it, we’re thrilled to announce that we’ve helped a couple more organisations into space in Banbury through the ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire’ programme. One of these organisations is Orinoco, who got the keys to a property on Banbury’s High Street and begin the fit out […]
The process of finding a space, securing a ‘meanwhile’ lease on it and fitting it out can be a long and arduous one, so when we were able to support our first occupiers into a space earlier this summer, we were very excited. We were introduced to Dee, founder of a local community interest company called Autism […]
Makespace Oxford and partners have teamed up with local councils to launch a new £1.7m programme to breathe life back into high streets and urban centres across Oxfordshire, supporting our communities to bounce forward from COVID-19 over the next year. ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire…’ is unparalleled in its ambition, and the first in the UK of its kind. Over the […]
