Night Time Enterprise Zone Fund

The Mayor’s Night Time Enterprise Zone Fund has been established to help high streets thrive from 6pm. We know that boosting footfall and consumer demand is key to the success of London’s high streets, yet many close early leaving dark shop fronts, empty pavements and desolate streets. This gives us little reason to be there.

We want more Londoners to have access to vibrant, welcoming high streets in the evening. Two thirds of Londoners are active at night, doing things like running errands and playing sport. Using our high streets at night will boost local businesses by adding lucrative trading hours and improve the experience of our city for Londoners and visitors alike. It will ease the pressure on rush hours and create a friendlier, less stressful city. Increased and varied activity will also help create safer streets across the capital.

1.6 million Londoners work at night, but night workers are amongst the lowest paid, and often experience less favourable conditions than those who work during the day. The increase in gig economy workers, such as delivery drivers, has further widened the equity gap between night and day workers. The wellbeing of night workers will be at the heart of our plans.

The Mayor of London piloted a Night Time Enterprise Zone in Walthamstow, with impressive results. It increased footfall by 22 per cent and helped create a stronger and more enticing evening offer. A wide range of shopping, eating, social and cultural activities attracted families and young people who had not used the high street at night before. This made the high street feel more welcoming, safe and inclusive for local communities.

Millions of Londoners don’t follow a ‘nine-to-five' life, but many of our high streets still do. Through the Night Time Enterprise Zone Fund we have the chance to make our high streets more accessible, inclusive and welcoming after 6pm. As we emerge from the pandemic it is important that we make it easier and more attractive to do business after 6pm and help councils, communities and businesses to pioneer better ways of living, working and doing business.

Amy Lamé, Night Czar

£390,000 is available from the Greater London Authority (GLA). The purpose of the fund is to create at least three new Night Time Enterprise Zones across London. It aims to help boroughs, businesses and local communities to experiment with ways to boost high street activity after 6pm.

The Mayor is committed to creating a fairer, more equal, integrated city where all people feel welcome and able to fulfil their potential. Night Time Enterprise Zones should be diverse, inclusive places, rooted in their local communities. They will fully involve local people, including workers and business owners, in creating and delivering the project. They will set out ways to make the high street a place that serves the needs of a diverse range of people and helps reduce inequalities.

We invite local authorities to apply for up to £130,000 of funding. Proposals should address all four of the Night Time Enterprise Zone priorities. Your application should identify one high street or town centre where your zone will be located and the funds will be spent.

The application should be led and submitted by a local authority. It should include local partners, community groups and business groups, such as Business Improvement Districts. It should include match funding of at least the same amount that you are requesting from the GLA. Up to 50% of the match funding can be in-kind, but the rest must be cash.

GLA funding is for revenue purposes only. If you wish to pay for capital costs, such as permanent lighting or wayfinding, this must be come out of your match funding.

In 2019 the London Night Time Commission recommended that, ‘the Mayor should establish a Night Time Enterprise Zone fund that boroughs can bid into’.

The London Borough of Waltham Forest piloted the Mayor’s first Night Time Enterprise Zone later that year. They involved business owners, night workers, local people, artists and several council teams to help make the high street feel safe, welcoming and active at night. They ran special activities and promotional campaigns, provided toolkits for businesses and re-purposed council owned buildings.

You can read the Walthamstow NTEZ pilot project report to find out what they did and the impact it had.

The four priorities of a Night Time Enterprise Zone are:

1. To extend opening hours and boost activity on the high street after 6pm, giving businesses more opportunities to increase income and footfall.
2. To give local people and visitors better access to shops and services after 6pm.
3. To make the high street more welcoming and inclusive for a diverse range of people after 6pm
4. To increase the number of night workers that benefit from good work standards.

There are many examples of activities that you may want to explore. These should be discussed with local businesses, communities and workers during the initial engagement phase of your project. You will find a wealth of case studies and ideas in the Mayor’s Night Time Strategy Guidance.

Here are some ideas that you may wish to consider:

2022

• June and July: applications developed by local authorities and their partners.
• August: applications assessed by the GLA.
• September: interviews for shortlisted bids.
• September: applicants find out of their bid is successful.
• September: funding agreements signed.
• October: successful applicants announced by the GLA.
• October: project delivery begins.

2023

• March: progress report one submitted to the GLA.
• June: progress report two submitted to the GLA.
• September: progress report three submitted to the GLA.

2024

• January: final report, case studies and action plan submitted to the GLA.

Before writing your application, please read these documents:

• Findings and Recommendations of the Night Time Enterprise Zone Pilot Project
• Night Time Strategy Guidance: Part 1
• Night Time Strategy Guidance: Part 2
• London at Night - An Evidence Base for a 24 Hour City

All Night Time Enterprise Zone applications must include:

• a plan showing how the leadership and governance of the project will be fair, inclusive and representative of the area it is being delivered in
• a summary of the people, communities and businesses that you expect to benefit from this project, and how
• use of both data and local knowledge as evidence to inform the project plan
• a commitment to monitor and evaluate the impact of project on:
  • the local economy
  • the fairness and inclusivity of the high street
  • local night workers’ pay and wellbeing.
• a commitment to publish a final report and case studies that help other boroughs to learn from your Night Time Enterprise Zone, plus an action plan showing how the zone will continue after the GLA funding has ended
• a commitment to producing a night time strategy for your borough within two years of the funding being awarded.
• a letter of support from the Cabinet member that is sponsoring this project
• a letter of support from all partner organisations.

Please email the completed application form, and the signed letters of support, to [email protected] by 12pm on Thursday 28 July 2022. The GLA will acknowledge receipt of your application.

Applications will be assessed by a panel of GLA officers in August. An interview will be held with each shortlisted bid team in early September. Following this, each bidder will be contacted with the outcome of their application.

The scoring of applications will be weighted as follows:

• Location and rationale: 15 per cent
• Proposed activities: 15 per cent
• Partnership and community engagement: 15 per cent
• Commitment to a diverse and inclusive high street: 15 per cent
• Links to local policies: 10 per cent
• Evaluation plan: 10 per cent
• Budget: 10 per cent
• Timeline: five per cent
• Expected legacy: 5 per cent.

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