Today, we launch our 20th anniversary campaign, marking two decades of helping people access high-quality settled homes that help build foundations for successful lives.
Throughout the anniversary year, you’ll see new 20th anniversary branding across our website, publications, events and communications. It’s more than just a new look. Our campaign celebrates the people and partnerships that have shaped Local Space over the last 20 years and the stories that continue to shape our future.
At its heart is a simple belief: settled homes create stability, safety, opportunity and better long-term outcomes for individuals and families.
Twenty years of making a difference
For 20 years, we’ve worked with local authorities to deliver practical, long-term solutions to homelessness, providing high-quality homes for those who need them most.
In the mid-2000s, Newham was facing unprecedented housing pressure, with homelessness on the rise. Rather than building new homes from scratch, Newham Council created Local Space to bring existing homes on the market back into use at scale. The council transferred 450 homes, which we refurbished and used as security to borrow funds, enabling the purchase of around 1,000 additional homes. All were leased back to Newham, providing guaranteed, good-quality accommodation for families in urgent housing need.
This innovative model, using gifted assets to unlock investment for homelessness, was one of the first of its kind. Twenty years later, it continues to demonstrate how delivery-led, long-term solutions can help tackle homelessness while making the best use of existing housing.
We’ve grown from an initial 450 homes to an organisation that now provides more than 3,000 homes across East London and Essex, working with multiple local authorities to help more people access safe, settled accommodation while making better use of existing housing.
This milestone is an opportunity to reflect on everything we’ve achieved together. We’ve supported thousands of people into stable homes, strengthened partnerships with local authorities and continued to demonstrate that, with the right model, existing homes on the market can be transformed into places where people can build successful lives.
Opening Doors
Our anniversary campaign, Opening Doors, celebrates the people at the heart of Local Space.
Behind every door is a unique story: a family finding stability, a child growing up in a secure home, a resident achieving their goals or a partnership creating positive change in our communities. Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing these stories to show the lasting difference that a settled home can make.
Our campaign reflects how far we’ve come since 2006 while looking ahead to the future. Every story is different, but they all begin with the same foundation: a place to call home.
We’ve introduced a special 20th anniversary look to celebrate this milestone. The anniversary branding has been designed to complement our existing Local Space brand while celebrating two decades of creating opportunities through settled homes.
Celebrate with us
Over the coming months, we’ll be celebrating our anniversary with residents, colleagues and partners in many different ways, including anniversary events, sharing stories from the last 20 years and reflecting on the milestones we’ve achieved together as we look towards the future.
Josie Parsons, Chief Executive of Local Space, said:
“Celebrating our 20th anniversary gives us a chance to recognise everyone who has been part of the Local Space story over the past two decades – our residents, colleagues, partners and supporters. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together and the positive impact we’ve made by helping more people access settled homes.”
“While we’re taking time to celebrate this milestone, we’re equally focused on the future. Homelessness remains one of the biggest challenges facing our communities and we’ll continue working with our partners to deliver practical, long-term solutions that provide high-quality homes that help people build foundations for successful lives.”
As we continue delivering our strategy, Foundations for Successful Lives, we’ll keep working with residents, partners and colleagues to provide high-quality homes, deliver excellent services and create opportunities for people to thrive.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of our journey over the past 20 years. We look forward to sharing more stories, celebrations and opportunities to get involved throughout our anniversary year.