The Greater London Authority (GLA), in partnership with London Councils, the boroughs and other partners, is coordinating the establishment of indoor and outdoor cool spaces from 1st June to 15th September 2022 (the same period the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England Heatwave plan for England is operational). This builds on the establishment of indoor and outdoor cool spaces in the summer of 2020 and 2021.
During summer heatwaves, there is a need for cool spaces in the city where the public can rest from the heat and cool down. Cool spaces are public or private spaces which are open to the public and designed to provide the public, including those with no fixed abode and those with little and or no adaptive facilities in their home, with a cool space to retreat to from excessive heat.
As with last summer, the GLA will identify, establish, and promote cool spaces in London with a mapped network of indoor and outdoor cool spaces accessible to all Londoners.
To help the GLA and partners identify and establish a cool spaces network in London we are asking boroughs and organisations to register suitable sites.
Registration is open until Tuesday 3rd May 2022 through the following methods: –
- Fill in an online form here: https://apps.london.gov.uk/cool-spaces-registration/#/register
Both indoor and outdoor cool spaces will be operational between 1st June – 15th September 2022 (the same period the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England Heatwave plan for England is operational).
Once organisations submit their sites, the Cool Spaces Project Steering Group (PSG) will review submissions to establish a network of cool spaces across the City. As with last year, cool spaces are categorised according to a tiered system. The tiered approach to classifying cool spaces is meant to provide Londoners with a better understanding of what can be expected from spaces and how certain spaces can better fit their needs. The GLA may need to contact you to discuss your submitted space.
The GLA is keen to have as many responses as possible to ensure we have a spread of cool spaces registered in all of London’s boroughs. In addition, by taking the time to register sites now, you will help the PSG identify where further investment might be needed to improve and enhance London’s network of cool spaces in the development of further phases. So, please do get in touch by submitting your site/s online.
If you have already registered last summer you are not required to complete another online registration form for this summer. However, if you would like to keep the same site registered for this summer, please send confirmation of this in an email (including the names of the spaces) to: [email protected]
Once boroughs, community groups, faith based and other organisations register their sites, the GLA team will validate them and assign a cool space tier based on the criteria in this document. The location and relevant information of the cool spaces will be shared with the public through an online map.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us at:
