100 new ‘Public Living Rooms’ to open across England to tackle loneliness and division

A group of leading housing associations has partnered with grassroots social movement Camerados to work alongside communities to collectively tackle loneliness, isolation and division - backed by £228,000 of funding from the Fusion21 Foundation.

Last week, the partnership celebrated the launch of the two-year project across England by creating three pop-up Public Living Rooms in Hackney, Bow and Dalston in East London. The spaces brought together residents, partners and community leaders to celebrate the power of connection and conversation.

Public Living Rooms provide informal, welcoming spaces where people can drop in, spend time together and feel part of something - without referrals, assessments or formal support. They look and feel exactly like the name suggests: some will have sofas, hot drinks, music playing, board games on the table - always friendly, informal and open to everyone.

Half of the new Public Living Rooms are being delivered in partnership between SNG and housing associations, Clarion Housing Group and Peabody. The remaining spaces will be created in partnership with other Fusion21 member housing associations as the project progresses. Public Living Rooms will be opening their doors in shopping centres, community centres, high streets, parks, open spaces and cafés across the country.

With loneliness increasingly recognised as a public health issue - exacerbated by pressures on public services – and division in communities becoming more prevalent, Public Living Rooms offer a simple but powerful response, helping rebuild everyday connection one conversation at a time.

Rather than attempting to “fix” problems or redirect residents into stretched services, Public Living Rooms focus on cohesion, mutual support, connection and trust. Anyone can come in, make a cup of tea, sit quietly or strike up a conversation.

Richie Rumbelow, Customer Experience Director at SNG, said: “The Public Living Rooms programme is a powerful example of how informal, welcoming spaces can create vital community connections. By bringing people together in everyday settings, we are creating opportunities for meaningful conversations, shared understanding and trust to grow.

"SNG's customer strategy, Better Together, focuses on four priorities: SIMPLE, RELIABLE, INDIVIDUAL and CONNECTED. The Public Living Rooms programme is just one of the ways we're working with customers to form thriving, connected communities."

Maff Potts, Director at Association of Camerados, said: “We are launching a very exciting partnership between three of the largest housing associations in the country - Clarion, SNG, Peabody - and the Camerados movement. To create 100 public living rooms in 100 neighbourhoods across the UK alongside the communities that live there. In these no agenda and non ‘fixing’ spaces people will get a bit of company and mix with others across divides. Places where we can remember the best thing to do with our day is to connect with others. It sounds so obvious yet is so rare and missing in our communities.”

SNG, Peabody, Clarion and the Fusion21 Foundation hope the initiative will encourage wider discussion across the housing sector about the role of informal spaces, preventative approaches and trust-based community support.