Evaluation of a free community spaces hub for charities in South London is recommending the model is rolled out nationwide.

The call has been made in evaluation of social enterprise management consultancy PPL’s hub, which estimates the financial value to local charities of using the hub for meetings and other work is £250,000.

This hub was set up from an initial investment from PPL through its social impact fund of £80,000 in response to a report from local organisation Community Southwark. This detailed the need for charities in the area to be supported to tackle high rents and challenges finding spaces for work and meetings.

So far more than 80 voluntary and community groups have used PPL’s hub, including Diabetes UK and Read Easy Southwark.

This should be “a blueprint model for other organisations to replicate”, states the evaluation.

“The PPL Hub has unlocked £250,000 in financial value for voluntary and community organisations, and we believe this is just the beginning of a story about how we can all think differently about the social impact we can deliver, with assets we already have,” said PPL’s joint chief executives Claire Kennedy and Simon Morioka.

Community Southwark chief executive added: “To give free space with open doors and warm hearts shouldn’t feel revolutionary, but it does.

“It’s a model that says space shouldn’t just be about who can pay the most, and it says to the Voluntary and Community Sector: ‘You matter, the work you do matters, and it can’t be done without somewhere to do it.’”

---