Mayor boosts local ‘good growth’ projects with £24 million

10 March 2020

Final round of Good Growth Fund allocated £23.7 million to 42 projects

More than 2,000 jobs created or safeguarded and 5,000 businesses helped

Mayor makes more than £340,000 of crowdfunding pledges

Innovative projects which help Londoners shape the future of their local communities are set to benefit from a £24 million investment from the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

From a community theatre and a fully-accessible community centre for Londoners with disabilities, to exciting plans to transform markets and high streets, 54 projects across the capital will benefit.

Through his Good Growth Fund, the Mayor has announced a final £23.7 million to support more than 40 forward-thinking regeneration projects across the capital.

Launched in 2017 and delivered in partnership with the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP), the Good Growth Fund seeks to make London fairer and more inclusive by strengthening civic networks at a local level, encouraging innovation and supporting great design. In total, the Fund has supported 138 projects, allocating more than £75 million.

Meanwhile, he has made pledges worth £343,500 through the seventh round of his Crowdfund London programme – from a social enterprise cinema in Brent to a grassroots community space in Upton Park, the Mayor is supporting 14 community-driven ideas.

Since its launch, Crowdfund London has backed more than 130 local projects proposed and delivered by communities to improve their local areas. The Mayor has pledged more than £2.5 million alongside almost 20,000 members of the public.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “London’s local communities are sources of tremendous innovation and creativity.

“Through my Good Growth Fund and Crowdfund London programme we’re supporting thousands of businesses and helping more Londoners make a difference to their local areas across the city.

“London’s growth places significant pressures on our high streets and open spaces – the funding I’m announcing today will help create healthier and more inclusive places to work, live and visit.”

Good Growth Fund

One of the successful projects in this third and final round is the Market Garden City in Waltham Forest and Haringey. The Mayor’s investment of £1.2 million will help create new facilities for community food education, distribution, skills training, volunteering opportunities and employment - all directly targeted at a diverse range of local people.

This funding round will create or safeguard more than 2,000 jobs, support almost 5,000 business, help 1,500 people progress into work, bring 150 empty units back into use in local high streets and create more than 12,000 volunteering opportunities.

Several projects will receive a share of £2.3 million to deliver improvements in air quality, through innovative projects to reduce the reliance on diesel generators for Londoners living on the canal network.

The Good Growth Fund also fosters collaboration between organisations of different sizes and sectors – more than half the funded projects in this round have at least four partners.

Crowdfund London

In the latest round, Mayoral pledges include £50,000 to The Lexi Hub Appeal in Brent – the UK’s first social enterprise cinema. If successful, its crowdfunding campaign will help it provide 2,000 hours of additional community activities, screenings and volunteering opportunities each year, as part of its wider work to tackle isolation and support the local community.

Previous projects include a new public space designed and built by young people in Hackney and a community centre and café in Haringey.

Under the crowdfunding model, once each campaign successfully reaches their fundraising target the Mayoral pledges will be released. The programme is delivered in partnership with civic crowdfunding platform Spacehive.

LEAP Board Member, Dr Celia Caulcott, said: “I am really impressed by the range of bids received across the Good Growth Fund and Crowdfund London. It is testament to the creativity across London’s diverse communities. The collaboration, innovation, and passion that underpins these projects is helping deliver integrated groups and neighbourhoods that enable everyone to belong, grow and thrive.

“As a Member of the LEAP Board since 2016, I have had the pleasure to witness first-hand the difference that both of these programmes make to the lives of Londoners and London’s local areas. The Board’s aim is to deliver ‘good growth’ that helps make London a strong, prosperous and inclusive city. These exemplar projects are good growth in action – transforming communities for the better.”

Nat Defriend, Deputy CEO and COO of Every One Every Day – which received £850,000 in round one of the Good Growth Fund – said: “The Mayor’s support means that hundreds of local residents and organisations in Barking and Dagenham will be able to develop their skills and creativity as part of a new movement of local makers.

“The Every One Every Day Warehouse opened its doors last March and has welcomed more than 1,000 local residents and encouraged more than 450 to join our collaborative business programmes.

“As the project develops the Warehouse will cement its place at the centre of a practical learning infrastructure across the borough and benefitting many local people. All this would have been impossible without funding from the Mayor.”

Huan Rimington, Founder and Director of Build Up Foundation – which received £30,000 in round five of Crowdfund London – said: “Last year a team of local young people designed and built a new public space in Hackney with the support of Crowdfund London. The project – Build Up Hackney – aimed to give young people a genuine say over how their local area is changing.

“Thanks to the Mayor we were able to raise the funds to get the project off the ground and create a precedent for young people having a voice in their local areas across London.”

Chris Gourlay, Founder & CEO of Spacehive, said: "This latest round of Crowdfund London campaigns are been more spirited, energetic and inclusive than ever. We're almost seeing mini-movements forming around ideas that Londoners clearly really value and want to see happen in their local areas.

“The diversity of projects that the Mayor is backing is fantastic – from a plan to revive a loved heritage building as an arts and cultural centre in Streatham, to Leyton's answer to Rio's stunning Favela Painting project, Londoners‘ creativity is clearly in full flow.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

About the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund

The Good Growth Fund is the Mayor of London’s biggest regeneration fund and is delivered through the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP).

Launched in June 2017, it provides more than £75 million of capital funding from sources including the Local Growth Fund and European Social Fund, as well as expert regeneration advice, design support and knowledge sharing.

For more information on the Good Growth Fund and a full list of successful projects, see: https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/regeneration/funding-opportunities/good-growth-fund-supporting-regeneration-london

About Crowdfund London

Crowdfund London gives anyone the opportunity to pitch new ideas – big or small – for community-led projects to make their local area even better. It supports innovative and inclusive regeneration projects which help Londoners play a role in shaping the future of their local areas.

Developed and delivered by the Mayor of London’s Regeneration and Economic Development Team, the programme is supported by the London Enterprise Partnership for London (LEAP) and delivered with civic crowdfunding platform Spacehive.

The programme harnesses new technology to help people come together to create, fund and launch local initiatives that can have a big social and civic impact.

To find out more about Crowdfund London and for a full list of Mayoral pledges, see: https://www.london.gov.uk/crowdfunding

About the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP)

The London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP) is the local enterprise partnership for London. The LEAP brings entrepreneurs and business together with the Mayoralty and London Councils to identify strategic actions to support and lead economic growth and job creation in the capital.

Find out more: https://lep.london.

Full list of supported projects

Good Growth Fund Round 3 – successful projects

Project and applicant	Description	Funding allocated
Adaptive Wood Green, London Borough of Haringey	A strategic area-based regeneration project that includes co-designed youth and social inclusion projects and the creation of safe routes to schools in Wood Green and Noel Park to improve street greening, air quality and promote active travel. The project also includes an innovative approach to address issues facing the local high street using a town centre re-positioning strategy and a pilot project to convert an existing retail unit into a piece of civic infrastructure.	£972,500
Fore Street, Angel Edmonton, London Borough of Enfield	A high street focused local regeneration project based in Angel Edmonton comprising an ‘urban room’ for community engagement, the creation of low-cost office and retail space in disused garages and a laundry yard, and public realm improvements at targeted spots along Fore Street. The project also includes a programme of business support, the creation of employment and skills opportunities and the development of a strategic area plan.	£1,100,000
Green Street and Queens Market, London Borough of Newham	A strategic town centre project that includes improving Green Street high street and intensifies Queen's Market by bringing in new programmes and activities needed in the town centre as identified by the local community.	£2,000,000
Market Garden City, London Borough of Waltham Forest and London Borough of Haringey	To create two growing hubs in LB Waltham Forest and LB Haringey for community food education and distribution, creating opportunities for skills, employment and connection with nature for local people. The project will directly engage diverse local groups through skills, training, engagement and volunteer programmes, and is taking an innovative design approach that champions low carbon technologies and circular economy design principles	£1,195,700
Reimagining Rich Mix, Rich Mix Cultural Foundation (Tower Hamlets)	An expansion of Rich Mix to introduce a new open ground floor, expanded Stage area, a new frontage onto Redchurch Street and enhanced frontage onto Bethnal Green Road, increasing free or low-cost performance and exhibition space and learning space for the benefit of BAME local, and other diverse artists, residents and school children.	£550,000
Securing the future of The Yard Theatre and Hub67 The Yard Theatre (Hackney)	New build community focused theatre and community hub, to secure the long-term home of a nationally significant cultural organisation. The project includes new programmes to increase the rate of participation amongst a diverse community into opportunities provided through the creative industries. Combining The Yard and Hub67 into one place help to create social inclusive space in Hackney.	£1,140,000
Music and Dance Digital Hub, Urban Developments (Newham)	A new home for Urban Development and East London Dance within the Sugar House Island development will provide affordable workspace, dance facilities, recording studios and teaching space; aiming to address the needs of young people from east London helping them to access opportunities in the creative industries.	£350,000
Harrow Road Place Plan, Westminster City Council	Harrow Road Place Plan is a place-based strategy and delivery plan aimed at supporting one of London’s most deprived communities, with the development of key capital projects along the high street, including the Maida Hill Market support.	£900,000
North End Road - A Community Led Re-Design, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham	A multi-faceted place-based project focused on improving the high street and market along North End Road.	£1,000,000
Open Havelock, Catalyst Housing Ltd (Lewisham)	To deliver a new canoe club, multi-use sports facility, and workspace, alongside a new play space within the Havelock Estate utilising a series of undercroft spaces that are currently fenced off. The project will also improve the public realm to the Estate's edge with the Grand Union Canal and deliver an innovative evaluation programme to monitor the long-term impact.	£517,587
Westway Community Street, Westway Trust (Kensington & Chelsea)	The 'Community Street' is a ten-year vision providing physical improvements and renewal as well as better economic opportunities for people in North Kensington. It aims to bring together what is currently a series of disjointed spaces, to create a more cohesive place to better support the community. This project builds on the findings of the previous co-design urban strategy and delivery plan for the 23 hectares underneath the Westway.	£1,346,000
Centre of Memory and Learning: 28 Penton Street, The Liliesleaf Trust UK (Islington)	To create the first space to engage users in the UK’s role in the international Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM). Redeveloping 28 Penton Street, the former London HQ of the African National Congress (ANC), the project will inspire Londoners through a programme of education and engagement drawing from the legacy of one of the most powerful social histories of the 20th Century.	£1,000,000
Ludham Undercroft, London School of Mosaic (Camden)	To address the lack of affordable artist workspace in Camden by creating private and rented studios and flexible membership options for local artists. Camden is supportive.	£766,000
Securing a future home, King's Head Theatre (Islington)	After 49 years, the King’s Head Theatre, one of London’s longest running and best loved LGBTQ+ venues, is moving and evolving into the home of young creative theatre companies, with a purpose-built new theatre, a main auditorium, a studio theatre and cafe/bar providing a creative hub with a dedicated training programme. It will also provide training and mentoring for the next generation of small creative businesses.	£800,000
West London Disability Hub, Action on Disability (Hammersmith)	To create a new community and service centre for disabled Londoners. The centre will provide benefits advice, employability training, employer training as well as independent living courses. The works will fit out a ground floor unit within a new-build development, as well as create a new community garden space at the back of the community centre.	£153,670
Connecting Camberwell, Southwark Council	To improve and unlock key areas of public realm that are most used by vulnerable people and local businesses as well as provide improvements to the high street including shop front improvements, meanwhile activation, business support and public art. The project is underpinned by the new Area Plan and engagement with a focus on local young people.	£1,499,000
Connecting Kenley, Croydon Council	Based on in-depth local engagement, the project will provide a coordinated package of public realm, community space, sustainable transport and business support measures to bring together different parts of the community and provide civic infrastructure to enable good growth. The development of the Community Plan has already galvanised local stakeholders and established a community steering group.	£878,776
Old Vic Annex: A New Civic Cultural and Social Hub, The Old Vic Theatre Trust (Southwrk)	The project will deliver a new five-storey education, community and artist development space to form a social hub housing at Clore Learning Centre, a flexible studio space and a café-workspace with a play library for young and local people.	£500,000
Raise the Barn, Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses (Lambeth)	To create a flexible, multi-functional space with a teaching kitchen, classroom and outdoor learning yard at Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses.	£160,000
Sutton Works, London Borough of Sutton – Opportunity Sutton	As part of a strategic plan to diversify Sutton Town Centre, the council has purchased the former BHS building on the high street to create a new multi-use workspace and community facility called ‘Sutton Works’. The project will provide affordable and flexible workspace, a publicly accessible roof garden and a programme of free community events. Sutton Works is part of the council’s plan to develop a life science cluster in the Borough and will provide a high street venue to showcase the opportunity.	£1,300,000
The Charlton Workstack, The Greenwich Enterprise Board	The Charlton Workstack project is an innovative new approach to industrial intensification. It is a new building providing 14 new stacked industrial workspaces in Charlton Riverside. Delivered by the Greenwich Enterprise Board, the spaces will provide much needed high-quality industrial workspace in an area undergoing significant regeneration.	£700,000
Thomas' Lane Yard, London Borough of Lewisham	Thomas’ Lane Yard is the first phase of Catford’s regeneration plan and will set the tone for good growth to come. The project includes the restoration of an important local asset, the Catford Constitutional Club, as a cultural and community venue with a reinstated pub. The Georgian extension facing the yard will be refurbished and fitted out as a test kitchen and events space. Thomas’ Lane Yard itself will be the site of new affordable workspace for SMEs and micro-businesses with an inviting public realm.	£1,650,000
Fleet electrification infrastructure development, London Borough of Islington	To electrify Islington's refuge collection fleet through the provision of up to 150 smart chargers at the Waste and Recycling Centre. This will help minimise the grid connection requirement, while also providing a charging provision for the entire EV-ready council fleet. To allow this, power capacity must be upgraded to 2600kVA, made possible through a back-office management system.	£1,485,000
London Low Emission Waterways, London Borough of Camden	To reduce pollution on waterways in Camden by targeting canal users who rely on diesel power to generate electricity at mooring spots. This will pilot the installation of electric chargers for boats at 6 locations, allowing users to receive power from the Grid.	£65,500
South Central Hackney Air Quality/ Active Travel, Hackney Central	A series of improvements to Broadway Market and surrounding areas, with an ultimate vision of reducing vehicular through-traffic and increasing cycling. This will consist of a bus gate, removal and re-allocation of parking area to public realm, clean air route and a wider package of interventions to compliment an expanded Zero Emissions Network.	£386,000
The Grid Project, Film London (Hackney)	To install mains electrical supply cabinets at 3 film unit bases at three parks across London, to stop the usage of diesel generators. This will be available primarily for TV/Film use, but will also meet power requirements for cultural, sports and music events. Usage will be enforced as a mandatory requirement by Local Authorities and Royal Parks. The scheme will pilot at Victoria Park.	£402,282

Good Growth Fund Round 3 – development funding

Project	Funding allocated
A Theatre For All	£50,000
Centre for Artisan Accessory and Leather Makers	£50,000
Circular Economy Department Store	£50,000
Finchley Square	£50,000
Petticoat Lane Market	£30,000
Bridging Gaps: Lower Marsh and Waterloo Station	£30,000
Camden Community Markets	£50,000
Doddington Growing	£30,000
East End Women's Museum	£50,000
Pollards Hill	£50,000
Goldsmiths - Deptford Town Hall	£50,000
Peckham Coal Line (Queens Road Peckham)	£50,000
Community Brain Tolworth	£50,000
Hackney Central Town Centre	£50,000
Highams Park and Chingford – Creating a child-friendly district	£50,000
Stratford	£150,000

Crowdfund London Round 7 – Mayoral pledges

Project and campaign	Description	Pledge
Multi-media music space 4 young people, https://www.spacehive.com/multi-media-music-space-4-young-people	A space for at-risk young people to develop confidence and social skills through music and creative arts in a refurbished space to call their own.	£25,000
The Lexi Hub Appeal https://www.spacehive.com/thelexihub	The expansion of the UK’s first social enterprise cinema. Volunteer-run, the cinema is a wider piece of social infrastructure supporting social integration through a varied programme and open approach. This project will expand the hub and add an additional screen double the community programme and ensure more sustainable revenues.	£50,000
Wild About Wildlife: Restoration Project, https://www.spacehive.com/surreydocksfarm	Supporting the restoration of a unique community space run by 40 young farmers aged 8-13. They spend weekends looking after animals, growing and cooking food and conserving a wildlife habitat, right in the heart of London.	£20,000
Streatham Community Woodland Project https://www.spacehive.com/streatham-community-woodland-project	To protect a woodland habitat for future generations. A new trail pathway will reduce erosion, designate protected areas and increase accessibility to promote local use. Measures including new insect hotels will encourage more wildlife to the area. The activity programme aims to build skills, knowledge and a sense of belonging in the local community.	£14,000
A vibrant new community space in Hackney https://www.spacehive.com/kings-crescent-community-space	A modest TRA-led project to turn a disused ground floor commercial unit into a community space and associated events programme. This will unlock the potential of the new play-street in front with facilities to host events that bring all residents together.	£12,000
Transform the Common Room - Roman Road https://www.spacehive.com/transformthecommonroom	Transforming a temporary community structure on Roman Road into a new community learning and cultural space in partnership with local institutions. The project will provide an open, accessible and flexible space to support a variety of local uses and engagement opportunities.	£50,000
GoVanGogh https://www.spacehive.com/govangogh	A not-for-profit vegan café committed to providing opportunities for people with learning disabilities through prominent front of house training and employment. A disused lower ground area will be refurbished to a standard that supports the training aspirations whilst expanding capacity.	£12,500
Sowing Stitches https://www.spacehive.com/sowing-stitches	Transforming a disused off-license shop unit into a lively arts and cultural training and trading space. The project aims to attract businesses and footfall to an under-used shopping centre-come-housing estate, whilst connecting people with each other and new opportunities.	£15,000
Walala Parade - Public Art for Leyton https://www.spacehive.com/walalaparade	A collaboration between local arts collective and a renowned artist to create a street mural to celebrate the high street through a distinctive design developed alongside local residents and businesses.	£25,000
New life for Community Arts, Upton Park https://www.spacehive.com/ApplecartArts	Feasibility and business planning ahead of the potential wholesale renovation of a run-down community centre in the diverse Upton Park area. The project aims to create a new, valued space open to the whole community as a place to come together, share culture, promote social cohesion and support emerging creative talent.	£40,000
LEWiSHAM School of Muralism https://www.spacehive.com/LEWiSHAM-school-of-muralism	A mural-making skill-sharing initiative in Lewisham, teaching young people the processes and artistic skills to have a positive social impact through colourful and thought-provoking public art. Works would be placed in neglected public spaces and offer opportunities to develop future local artists.	£25,000
Save Streatham Hill Theatre: Phase 1 https://www.spacehive.com/save-streatham-hill-theatre	Community-led feasibility work and business planning to consider the future of a derelict, Grade II listed, 2,800 capacity former theatre on Streatham High Street.	£15,000
The Connection - cafe & barista training https://www.spacehive.com/connection-kiosk-cafe	The Connection, a homelessness charity in Westminster will create an inclusive community space in a prominent public park by creating a coffee kiosk as a training and development opportunity for local homeless people.	£20,000
Fashion and Creative Hub https://www.spacehive.com/fashion-and-creative-hub	British Bangladeshi Fashion Council working with a range of relevant partners to create a new Fashion & Creative hub in the heart of a residential community. The project aims to support more diverse parts of the community to engage with the wider East London Fashion District initiatives.	£20,000

Mayor boosts local ‘good growth’ projects with £24 million

Notes to editors

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