City of Sanctuary (UK)

City of Sanctuary is a British charitable organisation whose purpose is to build a movement of welcome across the UK, predominantly for asylum seekers and refugees, by coordinating and supporting networks of community groups across the UK and Ireland. It claims to be a grassroots movement.

City of Sanctuary began in 2005 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, founded by Craig Barnett and Inderjit Bhogal. In 2007, Sheffield became the UK’s first ‘City of Sanctuary’ – "a city that takes pride in the welcome it offers to people in need of safety." Subsequently, cities such as Leeds, Hull, York, and Swansea started their own community groups to work towards the same purpose, and City of Sanctuary became a registered charity with the purpose of supporting and connecting these groups.