Solutions

Create affordable workspaces

Affordable workspaces are essential to the survival of independent businesses.

The East End Trades Guild Affordable Workspace Manifesto was developed through a democratic process led by its members, and with assistance from the New Economics Foundation. While written for London, where dramatic rent rises are squeezing out independent businesses, many of the measure are relevant to other cities struggling to maintain the diversity of their economic ecosystems.

They include:

A working rent for small businesses
We need a flexible formula of rental affordability for small and micro businesses.

Small business community land trust 
A small business-led community land trust can provide genuinely affordable workspaces for small and micro businesses in perpetuity. CLTs are a viable long-­term solution to the workspace crisis.

Landlords’ register
Create access to comparable rental evidence to support small businesses in keeping rents reasonable, and enable stronger more accountable relationships with commercial landlords.

Tags Better work, more leisure

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Key documents

Policy in practice

Projects that demonstrate the benefits or may be helped by polices like this.

  • Homebaked
    Residents saved their iconic neighbourhood bakery and transformed it into a thriving community run-business.
  • Isle of Ulva
    Community campaigners buy their island.
  • Islington Community Wealth Building
    Islington, with some of the richest and poorest residents in the country, aims to build a more democratic economy.
  • Grasshoppers In The Park
    Parents and staff work together to provide high-quality, affordable childcare at this co-operative nursery.
  • Kitty’s Launderette
    Not-for-profit launderette offers a cheap place to wash and dry clothes and a warm, welcoming space for the community.
  • East End Trades Guild
    Alliance of 300 small businesses and independent traders takes on landlords and big business.
  • Grays Riverside
    Thurrock network is strengthening community ties and building local wealth.
  • Rock House
    A community-rooted development company transformed a run-down office block into a creative, collaborative, mixed-use hub.
  • North Ayrshire Community Wealth Building
    Scotland’s first community wealth building strategy aims to spread prosperity in an area with historically high poverty rates.
  • Sovereign Harbour
    Threatened by corporate developers, a fishing community took control of their harbour.