Mayor of London announces community funding to tackle environmental inequality and boost London’s climate resilience
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan and environmental charity Hubbub have today launched Grow Together, a community-led programme to help tackle climate and social injustice in the capital.
Grow Together is the Mayor’s response to data revealing that lower income, Black, Asian and minority ethnic Londoners are disproportionately affected by environmental issues such as flooding and overheating caused by climate change, as well as poor air quality and a lack of access to green space. This is largely due to systemic issues around where different communities live. However, these Londoners are also underrepresented in environmental decision-making, leading to their experiences frequently going unheard.
Boroughs and housing associations can apply for the fund which will award five neighbourhoods £18,000 each for community-led projects to address environmental inequalities. The successful groups will also receive a year-long series of bespoke workshops and guidance from expert mentors.
The programme builds on a community-led pilot project on Alma Street in Newham which sought to tackle social issues, such as a lack of community cohesion, anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping, with green solutions. The community created new green spaces, grew food, organised community litter picks, created safer and more accessible spaces for play and exercise, and gave residents new skills and employment opportunities.
The Mayor has also announced £1.2m of funding for the next round of his Grow Back Greener Fund, which supports communities to create and enhance green space and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change, prioritising projects in areas of the city with the poorest access to green space, at high climate risk and in areas of deprivation.
The previous two rounds of Grow Back Greener have awarded more than £2m in funding to almost 80 community-led projects. These include community gardens, river restoration, new wetlands, greener school playgrounds and housing estates. By November 2022, these projects will have improved almost 30 hectares of green space across the capital and involved more than 7,000 Londoners as volunteers and trainees.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said:
“The climate emergency is one of the biggest global threats we face today and we know that it doesn’t impact all Londoners equally, with communities suffering poverty, deprivation and health inequalities more likely to experience the worst effects of flooding or overheating.
“Programmes like Grow Back Greener have shown that stronger, more cohesive communities are more resilient and more able to create positive, lasting changes to their environment. This project is part of a range of investment in green spaces and programmes to help tackle the climate crisis and build a fairer, greener London for everyone.”
Billie-Jean Holmes, Community Coordinator of Alma Street Pilot Project and project coordinator at Hubbub said:
“Having worked on the pilot project, I know if residents and authorities work together, we can make our communities greener, healthier and stronger. For a long time, people have felt disheartened and pessimistic about the issues our community was facing – from litter and fly-tipping to a lack of accessible green space. Through coming together to tackle these problems, people now feel empowered and valued. This is a chance for communities to have a voice, be heard and, together, do something about it.”
Philip Nichols, Chief Executive at Spitalfields City Farm, Ram and Magpie Community Garden
"Funding from the Grow Back Greener Fund has given us an opportunity to reclaim a previously unloved piece of waste ground and create a new community garden – The Ram and Magpie Community Garden. There was previously lot of anti-social behaviour at this site, that negatively impacted our local community. The garden is situation in a densely inhabited part of Inner London with little access to open green space and few private gardens. We are co-designing the garden with the local community, with rain gardens to manage flood risk, fruit trees and a lively volunteering programme. Grow Back Greener has enabled us to deliver our vision to create a space for all, that empowers people to make positive change to their lives, our community, and the planet."
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Notes to editors
Grow Together has been developed by environmental charity Hubbub UK, with £100k funding from City Hall, and £50k from Hubbub UK. Eligible boroughs and housing associations can register their expression of interest for Grow Together now by visiting www.hubbub.org.uk/grow-together.
About Grow Back Greener 2022:
- The £1.2m third round of the Grow Back Greener Fund will offer grants to dozens of community-led projects to help more Londoners access green space and increase climate resilience in their neighbourhoods. It will focus on the most disadvantaged areas and the areas where the most Londoners live that do not have access to green space within a 10-minute walk, supporting community gardens, food growing projects, pocket parks and cleaner waterways. Parts of London still lack green space within walking distance. The Mayor believes that this is a matter of social justice and has committed to bring nature closer to Londoners. The Grow Back Greener Fund will help deliver on his manifesto commitment for all Londoners to live within a 10-minute walk of green space.
- Applications for funding for the third round of Grow Back Greener will open at the end of June to community groups, schools, civil society organisations and local authorities. Find out more and join the waiting list to hear when applications: /programmes-and-strategies/environment-and-climate-change/parks-green-spaces-and-biodiversity/grow-back-greener-fund-2022
- The Grow Back Greener Fund builds on the Mayor’s programme since 2016 to improve London’s green infrastructure to benefit all Londoners. The Mayor has invested over £20m in green space and tree planting projects. This has included planting a record 420,000 trees and supporting the improvement of over 500 hectares of green space and has involved over 60,000 Londoners in making their city greener.
- This builds on the Mayor’s first term where he secured London’s status as the world’s first National Park City. More details can be found at www.london.gov.uk/programmes-and-strategies/environment-and-climate-change/parks-green-spaces-and-biodiversity