Calico Projects

Service Delivery Support offer 2026

Calico Projects giving back

Calico Projects have a number of opportunities for local organisations to partner with them to deliver services and fulfil community needs.

As well as providing space for more than fifty creatives in the borough, we also support a number of charities and not-for-profit organisations through the provision of free and reduced-rent spaces, some of which are available to hire on a permanent basis, others are slots bookable by the hour in shared spaces.

Groups benefitting from this provision over the last year include: Catbytes CIC; Make Mee Studios; Mother House Lewisham; All Aboard Club; Parent Carers Lewisham; London Autism Group Charity and CC Foundation. We have also provided free spaces for a number of other projects including arts organisations, locally focused charities, civic groups and educational services, as well as operating our own workshops, social groups and community activities.

Expressions of interest are requested from registered charities, community interest companies and similarly constituted organisations with an annual turnover of £150,000 or less, who are in need of space to deliver services.    

This program is a good opportunity for groups and services seeking match funding or a requirement for joint programming / demonstration of community support. In those instances we are happy to assist in any such application process.
 
We are prepared to offer half price rental on permanent office/studio hire for six months, and a range of discounts on room-hire options for delivery of sessions from 50% off to fully funded free spaces.

FAQs

No, we are happy to receive proposals from organisations out of borough as long as they fit the brief of having an annual turnover of £150,000 or less, and will be delivering services aimed predominantly from people from the local area, and while we appreciate that some of these people may well come from neighbouring boroughs, the more focused the EOI is on Lewisham residents, the more likely we are to be able to support.

Yes, we work with a number of faith organisations and we’re happy to accept EOI form them, but we will not support the delivery of faith-based services, and any services delivered by the organisation must be open and accepting of everyone. For example, a faith-based organisation delivering an after-school homework club providing a healthy snack would be a proposition we would look at; an after-school prayer group for teenagers is not something we would consider. In short, anything with a faith promoting (or indeed political promoting) agenda would not be considered.

Yes, many of the services we support are concerned with serving a particular marginalised section of the population, or those with seldom heard voices. You don’t need to operating a service that is solely for a particular group, but we welcome those EOIs equally.

Usually the reason for this is that the space will already be booked at that time, our venues are very popular and we have busy timetables, we would not look to move any existing items on the timetable in order to accommodate new groups. There might also be examples where some groups may not be compatible with other events going on at the same time, for example a quiet yoga class does not want to operate when there is a pre-school music and dance event going on in the next room!

Session spaces are shared spaces that are used at different times for a variety of activities by different groups; for example it might be used for two hours in the morning for a reading group, an hour in the afternoon for a pilates class; if your project is agreed then you simply need to sign our terms and conditions of hire, then you will be invoiced every 4-6 weeks where applicable. Conversely, studio/office hire is where you are acquiring exclusive use of a space for a period of at least six months and you can come and go as you like under the terms of your licence agreement. A deposit will be required, and then rent is payable every month in advance. In both instances of session space and studio/office hire, your hire can normally be extended after the six month period has expired, however the rate will usually return to the headline rate or very similar.

Spaces Available for Sessions

Timetable of availability for sessions, and the maximum length of time available for those sessions (from Feb 2nd 2026):

(Community room spaces for groups of no more than 25 people) Usual cost £25 an hour:

Monday 10am-2pm (1 hour, 45 minutes maximum)

Tuesday 11am-5.30pm (3 hours maximum)

Thursday 1pm-5.30pm (2 hours maximum)

Friday 10am-5.30pm (3 hours maximum)

(Community room space for groups of no more than 15 people) Usual cost £20 an hour:

Monday 9.30am-5pm (3 hours maximum)

Thursdays 9.30am-10.30am (1 hour only)

Thursdays 3.30pm-6pm (2.5 hours maximum)

Friday 9.30am-3.30pm (2 hours maximum)

Sunday 10.30am-12.30pm (2 hours maximum)

Sydenham Library (Community room space for groups of no more than 25 people) Usual price £20 an hour:

Mondays 10.30am-3.30pm (no restrictions on time)

Tuesdays 10.30am-3.00pm (no restrictions on time)

Wednesdays 10.30am-2.30pm (no restrictions on time)

Thursdays 11.30am-2.30pm (no restrictions on time)

Lochaber Hall (Community Hall with space for larger groups, or smaller groups who need more room for their activity – for example a seniors dance group) Usual cost £25 an hour:

Monday 1.30pm-5.30pm (3 hours maximum)

Tuesdays 1pm-4.30pm (3 hours maximum)

Thursdays 12.30pm-3.30pm (2 hours maximum)

Fridays 12.30pm-5.30pm (4 hours maximum)

Permanent Space Hire (6 months contract at half rent)

Central Lewisham, office / studio space at half rent, comes complete with its own sink and toilet, plus access to shared break-out room, shared garden, shared kitchen and shared toilets.

185sqft – Usual price £555 pcm inclusive of bills, plus £16.67 energy charge.

Central Deptford, office / studio space at half rent, comes complete with air conditioning and access to shared break-out spaces, kitchen and toilets.

Choose from either –

293sqft – Good natural light – Usual price £875pcm inclusive of bills, plus £16.67 energy charge.

140sqft – Usual price £295pcm inclusive of bills, plus £16.67 energy charge.

Shared workspace desks – usually £120pcm fully inclusive.

Once the six month contract expires, all spaces can be taken up on a yearly licence, however any studio/office space holder can then give 60 days notice at any time. One month’s deposit is required from all studio-holders, and all agreements are based on licences, no leases are provided. Rules of hire apply, please ask for further details on the limitations of use. Under no circumstances is any residential use allowed.