Benefits

Warm Places in York

A Warm Place is somewhere you can go, free of charge, to spend time to keep warm if you're struggling to heat your home.

The Good Place Warm Place Grants Programme is utilised to fund a range of essential services and products including food supplies, equipment for food preparation and service, and contributions towards running costs such as support with energy, all aimed at supporting as many residents as possible through a network of accessible free to access warm places across the city.

Applictions to the Good Place, Warm Place grant fund have now closed.

Community hubs operating as warm spaces provide visible improvements to residents’ health and wellbeing, both mental and physical, a reduction in social isolation, enable further awareness of essential services such as financial support, and overall generate an enhanced sense of community.

See details of Warm Places in York.

Warm Places directory

The following table lists all of the Warm Places in York who have been awarded a Good Place, Warm Place grant.

Warm Place Opening Hours Details
Atrium Café, The Gateway Centre, Front Street, Acomb, YO24 3BZ Monday to Wednesday 10.00am to 2.00pm Provides a free, welcoming space offering friendship, support, food and drink. Games, mindful colouring, puzzles and crafts help people to connect through shared activity.
Choose2 Café, Hull Road Park, Alcuin Ave, YO10 3TQ Wednesdays and Thursdays, midday to 2.30pm Provides a Pay-As-You-Feel menu of hot food and hot drinks on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons
City of York Hockey Club, Elmpark Way, Heworth, YO31 1DX Fridays midday to 4.00pm The Friday warm space is open to local people seeking company, warmth and a hot drink. The setting is friendly and open to all.
Clifton Parish Church: St. Philip and St. James, YO30 6BH Mondays midday to 2.00pm, 2 November to 22 February 2027 Provides a hot soup lunch on Monday afternoons, excluding Christmas and New Year. The offer runs from 2 November until the end of February 2027.
Community Connect, St Clement’s Church, Scarcroft Road, YO23 1NF Wednesdays 10.00am to midday, Fridays 10.00am to midday Offers a warm space for social interaction over a hot drink. Digital Champions provide assistance with laptops, computers and other devices.
Door 84, 84 Lowther Street, YO3 7LX Wednesdays 1.00pm to 4.00pm A Wednesday café with a city-wide open-door policy, welcoming all residents. Free food, support, advice and a warm space are available to anyone in need.
Foxwood Community Centre, Cranfield Place, YO24 3HY Fridays 11.15am to 2.00pm The Friday hub offers a Pay-As-You-Feel lunch in a warm setting. Residents can also enjoy a chat and access support.
Fulford Social Hall, School Lane, YO10 4LS Mondays 11.00am to 1.00pm Warm space available to residents on Monday mornings throughout the year as a place to find warmth and company. Hot drinks and refreshments available.
Heworth Christ Church, Stockton Lane YO31 1JG Mondays 9.30am to 12.30pm Hosts a Monday coffee shop offering hot drinks, cake and a chat in a safe, welcoming setting. No activity participation is required, helping to reduce loneliness and isolation and improve mental wellbeing.
Lidgett Grove Community Café, Lidgett Grove Methodist Church, Wheatlands Grove, YO26 5NH Wednesdays 9.00am to midday A friendly and inclusive community hub where people of all ages and backgrounds can access support and build friendships. Activities are designed to improve wellbeing and reduce social isolation. The café serves hot food, light refreshments and hot drinks with optional donation.
Lived Insights Community Research Café, St Deny's Church Hall, Near Walmgate, YO1 9AD Mondays 12.30pm to 3.00pm (general café), Thursdays 11.30am to 2.30pm (research workshop) Operates 2 warm spaces offering support, a warm welcome, and hot food and drinks. Monday sessions are a general café, with planned research workshops on Thursdays.
Living Word Church Community Café, Riverside Centre, 187 to 189 Huntington Road, YO31 9BP Monday to Wednesday 9.00am to 4.00pm, Thursdays midday to 4.00pm A warm space with free tea and coffee throughout opening hours and free soup between 11.30am and 3.00pm. Facilities include a Tuesday morning crafts and games group, board games, and a soft play area for children under 2.
Oaken Grove Community Centre, Reid Park, Haxby, YO32 3QW Term time only - Tuesdays 9.15am to 11.15am Come along to the pop-up coffee morning with hot drinks and light refreshments. Open to all, including parents and older residents seeking a warm place to meet.
Over the Rainbow Café CIC, 6 Patrick Pool, YO10 8BB Available during café opening hours Offering a warm and safe space for the LGBTQ+ community with snacks, hot drinks and refreshments available.
Planet Food: The Real Junk Food Project York, Southlands Methodist Church, Bishopthorpe Road, YO23 1NX Thursdays 9.00am to 2.00pm Intercepts surplus food to prevent waste. The food is offered through a community café and Pay-As-You-Feel shop. The hot meals are served to anyone in need with no questions asked and is Pay-As-You-Feel.
St Andrews Church, Huntington Road, YO32 9PX Tuesdays 1.45pm to 3.45pm Cake and Company is where adults of all ages can chat over tea and cake. Activities include board games, quizzes, puzzles, live music and a “Thought for the Day”.
St Hilda's Church, Tang Hall Lane, YO10 3SD Tuesdays 10.00am to 1.00pm Operates a free, safe and welcoming community café for local residents. Jacket potatoes are provided in the summer months and homemade soup in the winter.
St James the Deacon Church, Sherringham Drive, Woodthorpe, YO24 2SE Term time only - Wednesdays 1.15.00pm to 3.15.00pm, Thursdays 10.00am to midday, Tots Playgroup Tuesdays 9.30am to 11.00am Delivers a term-time Warm Space on Wednesdays and a Community Café on Thursdays, alongside a Tots Playgroup on Tuesdays for families and children only. Additional Tuesday sessions run in school holidays on 29 December and on 9 February 2027, 9.30am to 12.30pm.
St Michael’s York Trust, Spurriergate Centre, Spurriergate, YO1 9QR Tuesdays and Wednesdays 10.30am to 2.30pm A volunteer-run, level-access warm space in the city centre, open eight hours per week. A fully Pay-As-You-Feel café offers hot drinks and light refreshments.
St Nicholas' Church, Dunnington, Church Street, Dunnington, YO19 5PW Wednesdays 9.00am to 10.30am, Saturdays 10.00am to 11.30am Offers a community café on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, serving tea, coffee and biscuits, with an optional donation but no charge. The heated Tower Room provides seating, tables and toilet facilities, including one for disabled users.
St Oswald's Community Café, St Oswald's Community Hall, Main Street, Fulford. YO10 4HJ Term time only - Tuesdays and Wednesdays 10.00am to midday Operates a Community Café in the hall next to St Oswald's Church for local residents. The café offers a welcoming space to chat and enjoy a hot drink with homemade cakes.
St Sampson's Centre, St Sampson’s Church, Church Street, YO1 8BE Monday to Saturday 10.00am to 4.00pm A safe, warm and welcoming setting with a low-cost café offering food and drink in the city centre. A programme of groups and activities aims to combat social isolation and loneliness.
St Thomas' Church, Osbaldwick Lane, YO10 3BD Wednesdays 9.30am to 11.30am, Thursdays 10.00am to midday Offers a weekly coffee drop-in for older people on Thursday mornings. A weekly toddler group runs on Wednesdays.
St Thomas' in the Groves, St Thomas’ Church, Lowther Street, YO31 7ND Tuesdays 10.00am to 3.00pm Provides a warm space for 5 hours a week on Tuesdays, serving hot food and hot drinks. A drop-in café runs in the morning, followed by a creative café in the afternoon.
St Wulstan's Church, Fossway, YO31 8SQ Term time only - Tuesdays midday to 1.30pm, Fridays 10.00am to midday Their Pay-As-You-Feel café is on Tuesdays, providing around 50 meals each week, and a community café on Fridays. Citizens Advice, Healthwatch and Digital Inclusion groups attend regularly.
The Hut, Clarence Gardens, YO31 8NS Thursdays 10.30am to 2.00pm Hosts a member-led coffee morning on Thursdays offering home-baked cakes, homemade soups and a hot drink. Open to all, it provides an opportunity to meet staff and members and learn more about the service.
The Place, Sanderson House, Bramham Road, Chapelfields, YO26 5AR Tuesdays 9.30am to 1.00pm, Thursdays 10.00am to 2.00pm, Fridays 10.00am to 2.00pm Delivers a Tuesday Community Corner, combining an Early Talk for York session with adult crafts, open to all Westfield residents, and Community Hubs on Thursdays and Fridays. Sessions offer food or refreshments, games, magazines, a warm space and signposting, with a food bank on Thursdays.
York In Recovery, The Recovery Hub, 2 Wellington Row, YO1 6BE Mondays 9.00am to 5.00pm, Tuesdays 9.00am to 6.30pm, Wednesdays 9.00am to 5.00pm, Thursdays 9.00am to 12.30pm, Fridays 9.00am to 5.00pm, Sundays 11.00am to 1.00pm Offers a city-centre community space where anyone can get warm, have a drink and a conversation, and feel welcome. No referral, personal information or recovery status or group attendance is required. Everyone is welcome and sure to be greeted warmly. There is comfortable seating, various games, and always a friendly face to say hello and offer you a cuppa.
York Travellers Trust, 20 Falsgrave Crescent, Clifton, YO30 7AZ Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 10.30am to 1.30pm The Public Living Room project is open to all as a warm space with hot drinks, free Wi-Fi, information and signposting. A Food Stall and Clothes Stall are also open to everyone.

We also publish details of Warm Places in York each year in our Warm Places Directory on Live Well York.

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Explore York libraries

Explore York is here for everyone, all year round, offering warm, welcoming spaces in 15 libraries across York.

Libraries are open from early in the morning into the evening. You can relax and meet friends or join in with a range of free and low cost activities for all ages, including:

  • crafting
  • book groups
  • board games
  • winter warmer, low-cost hot meals at Explore Reading Cafés

PCs and printers are available for you to use, with digital support on hand from knowledgeable and friendly staff. All libraries and cafés have free Wi-Fi.

Explore York also offer events for children, to help families make their money go a bit further, including:

  • a free toy library
  • under 5s story and play sessions
  • Lego clubs

If you need information about cost of living support, or anything else, Explore York staff are available to help.

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Also see

Shaping Neighbourhoods

West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO1 6GA
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