Warm Spaces: Inside a hub amid the chill of energy bills

Standing outside Ely and Caerau Community Hub in west Cardiff as the sun shines brightly on another glorious October day, the fact that the UK is on track to experience its warmest year on record seems unsurprising.

The unseasonal weather is fortunate timing for everyone who has a home to heat, with energy prices having risen sharply at the start of October.

The above average temperature makes the announcement by Cardiff council that from last Monday its libraries and hubs, such as the one in Ely, have been designated Warm Spaces - somewhere people can go just to stay warm - a tiny bit incongruous.

But this is not likely to remain the case when temperatures drop. This service by the council and other organisations in the capital and across Wales could prove to be a lifeline for those struggling to keep their homes warm as winter bites.

Walking through the doors of the centre, there is a pleasant sense of brightness, activity and, yes, warmth. The hub, as its name suggests, offers a variety of services, not just a library like the building it replaced in 2014.

A Story and Sing session for babies and toddlers is taking place in the children's library area. There is a job centre in one corner, a council housing and advice section in another, a cafe in a third.

An atrium lit up by the sunlight coming through its transparent roof hosts a work, non-fiction and quiet zone along with self-contained meeting rooms, while the centre of the hub offers general library books. People are using the computer banks or taking up the help of the various services on offer. The hub feels welcoming.

But what of those who have no specific purpose? How might they feel, coming in just to sit and take advantage of the warmth?

Hub manager Ana Cremene is determined to make anyone who comes in seeking shelter feel welcome. As it is only the second day of the initiative, they have not had any takers so far with the good weather holding, but are starting to spread the word in time for colder days to come.

She acknowledged that people might feel reluctant to come because of a misplaced sense of embarrassment at needing to use the hub as a warm space and is keen to ensure anyone who does come in that capacity is helped to feel at ease.

Part of the reception desk has been set aside as the Warm Spaces base, with free hot and cold drinks on offer, which staff will make for anyone who wants one, notwithstanding the existence of the cafe just across the room.

Ana sees the Warm Spaces designation as an extension of the work the hub has always done. "We're always trying to be inclusive and part of the community that helps out people as much as we can," she said.

"We try to provide as much as we can. With the Warm Spaces, we're trying to encourage everyone to take part in it and to feel welcome and safe and supported."

People who come "may feel a bit hesitant - we are trying to break the ice and say it's normal and it's a thing everyone is going through". She has told staff: "Regardless of how busy we are, if the person comes over to you then give them a smile and make them feel really welcome."

Staff will also be able to offer people help if necessary.

"We're trying to solve the main problem in a day if that's possible," explained Ana. "If it's not within our expertise, we will make the right referral for them."

So what do the people already using the centre think of the initiative?

First-time mother Trishna Singh-Davies has brought her nine-month-old son Hira along for Story and Sing. She lives locally with him and her husband in a rented house.

Having a baby has changed the freelance DJ's attitude to warmth levels, she admits.

"Before we had the little one, we could just put more layers on, but you can't put lots of layers on a baby at night so we have to have the heating on," she said.

"With sleeping, we didn't have the heating on last night and I've had the baby in with me because the room felt cold.

"I'm putting a hot water bottle into the cot ready [to put him down] which is great, but when he wakes up [in the night] there's nothing ready for him."

She feels "in denial" at present about the rise in energy and other prices but, although she had not heard of the Warm Spaces initiative before this visit, believes it could become a more vital service as autumn and winter progress.

"It's a good idea," she said. "I'm not feeling it now but next month or the month after I might. I'm freelance so I don't always really know when we're going to get paid."

Rising prices have already affected her wider family, she said. Both her parents for the first time are spending much of the winter in Malaysia with family to save money on bills here. "They're going to switch everything off [at home] or turn it down to the minimum."

Over at the advice centre, Jordan Trigg, 30, who lives a street or two from the hub, has come in on behalf of a neighbour in the council block where he lives in a flat on his own, apart from regular visits from his six-year-old son.

He mainly uses the hub as a point of contact with the council if he cannot resolve any issues via its phone service.

Jordan works in two jobs, one in the mornings cleaning a job centre, and as a steward for events in the Principality Stadium. He also receives Universal Credit.

He is currently without gas because of a £50 debt on his meter and is hoping when he gets paid he will have enough to cover the bill so his gas service can resume. He has found the Energy Bills Support Scheme from the government a great help in managing his electricity bill, which for him is done through a pre-paid meter.

He moved into his flat three years ago after living with his parents, and price rises have had a big impact.

"Since I've moved into my own flat the cost of living has gone up and it's got ridiculous," he said. "It feels like I'm getting into a better situation, then going 10 steps backwards. The £60 payment has gone onto the meter which will help.

"I'm hoping that I will be able to get back into a routine once we get out of winter... and to be in a better situation next year."

He is very supportive of the Warm Spaces plan, which he sees as an extension of the sort of support he has always found in the area as a life-long resident of Ely.

"[The Hub] is ideal. It's a great space here - we've got the library and the computers. The staff are nice here. We have a great community here."

But like other people asked about the plan, he would prefer to just be warm enough in his own home come winter and not be put in a situation where he might need to go somewhere like the hub to stay warm.

Having a second job has helped him manage but he added: "I still do struggle after all my bills are paid. There are still days when I have been without food."

As Patricia Westlake, 79, left her monthly book group at one of the hub's meeting, she spontaneously commented on how warm the area felt with the sunlight shining through the transparent roof, and joked about coming back to take advantage of it on colder days.

This was before she knew about Warm Spaces, but when the retired civil servant from Caerau was asked more seriously about the scheme, despite her light-hearted comment she expressed reservations about it for herself, admitting she would have to be "really desperate" to come for that reason alone.

She explained: "I'm lucky. I manage my bills but I think it's bad if you've got a family."

She admitted she wasn't sure if she would feel comfortable in a space where people were just coming to sit, rather than to do something specific. But she added: "It is a thought mind, to come down here [when it's cold]."

Her fellow book group member and friend, Mavis Ingram, 81, of St Fagans, was also unlikely to come in just for the warmth, preferring to stay at home with her husband. Both women spoke of growing up without central heating, although Mavis wondered if modern "flimsy" homes were more likely to be cold.

Unlike her husband, she said she did feel the cold, but even so they only put the heating on for a few hours in the morning and again in the evening.

"My husband never stops worrying about the price of energy," she said. "At the moment we're ok, but I do think of going into the future, when it could turn [colder]."

But the former teacher also said she would be more likely to come to the hub for something specific, rather than just to get warm.

"I'd come to the library," she said. "It would be my love of books that would bring me here."