Spike Surplus Scheme, Community social center in Peckham, London, England
Spike Surplus Scheme was a community center in Peckham, London, housed in a repurposed building. It offered spaces for music rehearsals, art studios, martial arts training, and community gardening.
From 1999 to 2009, local residents transformed a former homeless shelter into a self-managed community space. This conversion shows how people reclaimed and repurposed a site for collective use.
The place served as a hub where local artists and musicians could access recording studios and performance spaces at no cost. This infrastructure allowed many to develop their craft and share their work with a wider audience.
The center was located at 39b Consort Road in South London and easy to reach on foot from nearby transit points. It was funded through donations and voluntary contributions, keeping all activities free for participants.
In its final years, the center sold polished pieces of glass found on the site as 'Peckham diamonds'. This creative fundraising effort aimed to help purchase the building.
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