Social Center - United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The UK Social Centre Network aims to link up "the growing number of autonomous spaces to share resources, ideas and information" . This network draws a very clear distinction between the many autonomous social centers around the country on one side and the state or large NGO-sponsored community centers on the other. Despite there being a tradition of large squats, the recent upsurge in social centers has come about in the last five years. Antecedents of the social center concept include projects such as the Centro Iberico and the Wapping Autonomy Centre.

In London, notable social centres have included the London Action Resource Centre, rampART, the Freedom Club, 56a Crampton Street infoshop, The Square' and in the old Vortex Jazz Club on Stoke Newington Church Street.

Elsewhere in the UK, there is Oxford Action Resource Centre, Kebele in Bristol, the Sumac Centre in Nottingham, The 1 in 12 Club in Bradford, the Cowley Club in Brighton. In the past notable centres have included The Basement in Manchester, Justice not crisis in Birmingham, The PAD in Cardiff, Next To Nowhere in Liverpool, Forest Café in Edinburgh, Giros in Belfast, Matilda Centre in Sheffield and the Common Place in Leeds.

Many social centres are squats, and as such have a very short life span.