DD2696 Royal Docks Place Promotion and Cultural Placemaking Programme 2024-26

1.1.    The Royal Docks is one of London’s largest regeneration and investment opportunities, at the centre of an expanding east London region. Once the UK’s gateway to world trade, today the Royal Docks is re-emerging as a major new business and visitor destination, with approximately £5bn worth of investment planned over the next 20 years, delivering up to 38,600 new homes, 55,000 new jobs and up to 4m square feet of commercial space. 

1.2.    Major anchor organisations such as Tate & Lyle, ExCeL, London City Airport, and the University of East London (UEL) are located in the Royal Docks, making it a strategically important economic centre for London. In 2022, City Hall relocated to the area, the Elizabeth Line opened, and major cultural partners invested in the area. These events signal a substantial eastward realignment of the city’s cultural, economic, and political centres.

1.3.    The Royal Docks and Beckton Riverside area is vast, comprising over 900 hectares of land; 91 hectares of impounded water; and 12 miles of prime waterfront. It sits at the confluence of two growth corridors; an Opportunity Area; and London’s only Enterprise Zone (EZ). These factors make it poised for rapid growth. It consists of six distinct waterfront neighbourhoods, in one of the UK’s youngest and most diverse areas. Over 175 hectares of land are in public ownership. The GLA is bringing forward seven major development sites, representing a mix of residential, commercial, cultural and industrial development. 

1.4.    The Mayors of London and Newham have jointly been delivering the regeneration of the area through its EZ status, funded through the ringfencing of business-rate income collected within the EZ since its inception. The area’s designation as an EZ has helped unlock significant public-sector investment and the establishment of a dedicated Royal Docks delivery team that is helping to coordinate the area’s comprehensive redevelopment. 

1.5.    In February 2024, the Mayor (under cover of MD3230) approved expenditure of up to £64.31m for the next five-year Royal Docks Delivery Plan period (2024-25 to 2028-29) to deliver programmes and projects designed to achieve three strategic outcomes: economic prosperity, growth and investment; environment, wellbeing and community; and culture, identity and perception. The Mayor also delegated authority to the Executive Director of Housing and Land to approve, through DD forms, the income and detailed spending proposals for each project that is to be funded within this £64.31m expenditure budget envelope.

1.6.    This decision form sets out the case for a comprehensive approach to cultural placemaking, marketing, communications and engagement, to help amplify and accelerate the totality of planned investment and development across the area. Now home to City Hall, the Royal Docks is London’s new political heart with a growing urban waterfront that is beginning to set it apart. In working to become London’s cultural engine, at the source of the Thames Estuary Production Corridor, it is transforming into a large-scale creative and cultural production centre, driven by its inclusive communities, and fuelled by creativity.

1.7.    Working closely with key stakeholders and communities, the Royal Docks Team (RDT) will showcase the Royal Docks’ unique qualities and identity, support its exciting transformation and unlocking the area’s future as a distinctive and desirable waterside destination and authentic cultural hub that is at the forefront of creating a fairer and more sustainable city for everyone.

1.8.    This DD seeks approval to spend up to £1.89m revenue expenditure (a mix of grant funding and payments for goods and services) for a two-year programme of activity (2024-26) to deliver a series of initiatives in cultural placemaking, marketing, communications and community engagement, to help transform the Royal Docks into a distinctive and attractive place to live, work and visit.
 

2.1.    Strategic Outcome 3 is structured around the following three delivery objectives: raising the Royal Docks’ profile; attracting and engaging audiences; and empowering culture and creativity. These objectives are detailed below. 

Raising the Royal Docks’ profile

2.2.    A significant programme of private/public investment and regeneration into the area’s six neighbourhoods is forecast over the next five years. The RDT plans to work with partners and the local community to both showcase and realise this exciting transformation – raising awareness of the area’s regeneration potential, and strengthening perceptions of the Royal Docks as a desirable place to live, work and visit. This will include investment promotion initiatives; industry partnerships; destination marketing and visitor attraction campaigns; community engagement; and continued investment in the area’s brand, as detailed below. 

Placemaking partnership

2.3.    The RDT will help coordinate, facilitate and enable our multiple stakeholders and partners to collectively promote the Royal Docks and ensure there is a joined-up and consistent approach to cultural placemaking and ‘place-setting’. A new placemaking partnership will be established to bring together the appropriate leads from all the key stakeholders and anchor organisations in the Royal Docks – including ExCeL, TfL, UEL, development partners and Royal Docks Management Authority (RoDMA) as well as key cultural and leisure partners. This partnership will meet quarterly and will help steer, coordinate and oversee activity. 

Refreshed place identity

2.4.    The RDT will update and evolve the Royal Docks place narrative and brand to ensure there is a competitive identity for the Royal Docks as a vibrant mixed-use destination, with a growing economic and cultural offer. This will include developing a strategic communications framework for 2024-29 to enable the RDT and key stakeholders to align around and deliver a more consistent and compelling set of key messages and moments, that drive real awareness and impact. 

Investment promotion

2.5.    The RDT will build confidence in the Royal Docks as an investment proposition, through targeted industry partnerships and promotional campaigns. This includes showcasing the pipeline of development and investment opportunities forecast for the next five years at signature property events and trade shows – working closely with development partners and Opportunity London. The RDT will also champion the Royal Docks’ commitment to social value and inclusive, sustainable regeneration through thought-leadership, proactive communications, speaking engagements and industry awards.

Destination marketing 

2.6.    As the area’s cultural and leisure provision expands (see 2.11, below), the RDT will work with partners to map, target and grow Royal Docks’ audiences and footfall. This includes working with strategic partners such as London and Partners, ExCeL, TfL and Broadwick Live to deliver a year-round programme of joint marketing and visitor attraction campaigns. The RDT will also scale and grow our two embryonic destination campaigns for the two cultural programmes At-the-Docks (ATD) and Royal Docks Originals (RDO), so they become fully established within London’s visitor offer, leveraging the area’s unique culture, heritage, and waterside profile.

Royal Docks model, events and exhibition

2.7.    The RDT will relocate the Royal Docks model – from its current home in the London Centre for the Built Environment to Compressor House, a new Digital Hub that opens next to Newham Council’s offices in 2024. The RDT will collaborate with partners and communities to deliver a year-round programme of talks, exhibitions and events around the model, to help communicate the pace and scale of change.

Scale the Royal Docks website and communications channels

2.8.    The RDT will continue to invest in high-quality content generation and the Royal Docks communications channels (website, social media and newsletter) to help showcase the extensive and ongoing redevelopment of the area. These channels will become a one-stop shop for the RDT, partners, investors, communities and visitors. This will help to create a sense of place; and allow audiences to interact with the area’s potential, unique stories, heritage, and culture.

Support community-led initiatives

2.9.    The RDT plans to fund and support Newham Council’s People Powered Places, one of the largest participatory budgeting programmes in the country. The RDT’s support will ensure communities in the neighbourhoods of Beckton and Royal Docks, and Canning Town and Custom House, are actively participating in the area’s regeneration – developing and delivering projects that enhance the overall environment and quality of life in the Royal Docks, as decided by local people.

2.10.    Under this Delivery Objective, the RDT is seeking to spend £840,000 of revenue expenditure (a mix of grant funding and payments for goods and services) from this approval to deliver a range of marketing, communications and engagement activity under the strands of investment promotion; destination marketing; contribution funding towards LBN’s People Powered Places programme; and investment in the area’s brand and communications channels.

Attracting and engaging audiences

Royal Docks Programme Development

2.11.    The RDT will work with the new Placemaking Partnership, and over 100 local cultural partners in Royal Docks’ Creative Network, to establish shared audience development priorities and create a responsive joined-up year-round culture and leisure programme that maximises opportunities in priority areas including high-profile cultural offers and development milestones. The RDT will help establish opportunities for cross-programming partners’ culture, sport and leisure activities; build the customer experience (including through improved food and beverage provision); and thereby help provide a larger and more diverse daily offer with enhanced amenities.

ATD and RDO

2.12.    The RDT will facilitate and produce cross-Royal Docks culture and leisure programmes including ATD, an annual summer programme, and the 2025 edition of the RDO biennial festival. Seeking to raise the area’s profile, increase dwell time and attract new visitors, these distinctive destination focused programmes unite work from high-profile commercial partners, and local artists and communities. They provide a step change in the Royal Docks’ offer to visitors whilst foregrounding the unique cultural character of the area; promoting its identity; helping to improve perceptions; and establishing the Royal Docks within London’s cultural offer.

Partners’ projects

2.13.    Projects opening or expanding over this period include: ExCeL’s significant ticketed waterfront offer Silverworks Island Festival (music series with event capacity of 20,000), the Compressor House Digital Hub (with potential to become a ‘sister’ heritage centre to Canning Town Library); UEL’s Royal Docks Sustainability Centre; and Ironworks, planned to open in 2025. The RDT will work with each partner to help integrate these offers, enhancing local engagement, coordinating collaborative opportunities, and ensuring maximum impact that supports the wider cultural approach towards placemaking within the area’s six neighbourhoods.

Water activation strategy

2.14.    The RDT will work with RoDMA to launch and pilot projects for ‘On the Royal Docks’ – the water activation strategy developed in 2023-24 that aims to establish the Royal Docks as London’s international centre for water-based arts and events. This strategy has significant potential to contribute to the Royal Docks’ profile as a major and unique cultural destination; and to drive footfall. The first water-based event of scale is planned to take place at the RDO 2025 festival. The Royal Docks Water Users Group (together with RoDMA, the Port of London Authority and ExCeL, amongst other interested parties) will progress delivery of the ‘On the Royal Docks’ strategy in 2024. One of the first projects for this enhanced group will be to progress the development of a burgeoning commercial relationship to establish a biennial water-light event on Royal Victoria Dock.

Incoming events and meanwhile activities

2.15.    Working with developers, landlords and RoDMA, the RDT will further expand the area’s event and activity offer by inviting incoming projects such as the E-Bike Grand Prix, and meanwhile activities to locate in key neighbourhoods of the Royal Docks supporting placemaking.

2.16.    Under this Delivery Objective, the RDT is seeking to spend £400,000 of revenue expenditure (payment for goods and services) from this approval to deliver the Royal Docks Summer Splash, a centrepiece of ATD destination campaign – which brings together all the activities and events being delivered by partners across the Royal Docks, under one umbrella marketing campaign. 

Empowering culture and creativity

2.17.    The three pillars of the Royal Docks Cultural Placemaking Strategy (People, Programme and Place) are the foundation of its vision to become London’s Cultural Engine. The RDT’s cultural placemaking programme works across these strands to support, showcase and champion creative excellence and innovation; invest in the area’s cultural ecosystem (including its creative professionals, residents, and future cultural and creative workers); and promote the development of creative workspaces and cultural infrastructure. In the next five years, the RDT will commission and produce new culture projects made in the Royal Docks; provide engagement opportunities for local people; support partnerships, networks and commissions for local creatives; and invest in the talent of young people with opportunities for training, employment and participation.

RDO 2025 Festival

2.18.    The 2025 edition of the RDO biennial festival (September/October 2025) will unite partners, communities and creatives under the theme of ‘Transformation’. Produced by the RDT, the festival will include two major commissions containing multiple local artist and community engagement opportunities. One of the commissions, showcasing residents’ ambitions for the Royal Docks, plus works by local creatives, will be presented in the context of a floating reflective installation by Cie Carabosse, one of France’s most important street-art groups. Creative Producer apprentices and Royal Docks Creative and Cultural Industries workforce trainees will work with Cie Carabosse on the installation, which will respond to the Royal Docks’ industrial past and its work towards a sustainable future. The second commission, a series of public artworks curated by east London collaboration, Hive Curates, will involve local artists. The themes, also focused on the development of the Royal Docks, will be developed through resident workshops. The works will be on semi-permanent display in and around City Hall Quarter. Key stakeholders will help shape and manage the commissions/projects through two new steering groups: the City Hall Public Art Steering Group and an enhanced version of the Royal Docks Water Users Group. 

2.19.    Local engagement opportunities centre around three pathways: resident stories and performance participation; local artist and creative commissions; and trainee and work experience opportunities. The latter includes a new multi-year Royal Docks Cultural and Creative workforce trainee agency for local young people; and a Creative Newham’s Cultural Producer apprenticeships project (both within Outcome 1 of the EZ Delivery Plan). Engagement opportunities will take place over 18 months; and will be coordinated and planned via a Local Engagement Director and the lead curators/directors of the two commissions. Outcomes of the engagement work will also be shown in other festival contexts including in the festival hub. Royal Docks engagement groups Creative Connectors and Creative Network will be involved in festival decision-making.

2.20.    Partners across the Royal Docks will be invited to participate in the festival, showcasing work and uniting around opportunities and marketing. Smaller commissions in partnership with local projects (such as Culture within Newham and Newham Heritage Month) will support emerging practitioners with platforms and showcasing, and will be presented alongside work by larger Royal Docks cultural providers such as UEL, Broadwick Live, ExCeL and Certain Blacks. A Festival hub at City Hall Quarter, and satellite opportunities, will be created by the RDT.

Our People and Stories 

2.21.    Other work to be delivered in the two years includes the strand of programming called ‘Our People and Stories’ which comprises heritage projects and public art. Heritage work during the period includes plans for engagement and dissemination of work via the new Compressor House Digital Hub. This will intersect with the RDT’s long-term work with Newham Heritage Month; and with LB Newham’s plans for Canning Town Library to become a heritage centre. Public art projects will be delivered by The Line, plus an expansion of the Royal Docks Gallery Without Walls hoarding programme with developers. Opportunities will be sought to connect public art with to developer milestones including the new Silvertown bridge. 

Local engagement groups

2.22.    Creative Connectors (residents) and Creative Network (cultural professionals) will continue with ongoing recruitment and engagement programmes. 

2.23.    Under this Delivery Objective, the RDT is seeking to spend £650,000 of revenue expenditure (a mix of grant funding and payments for goods and services) from this approval to deliver the RDO biennial festival, public art, and local commissions, and to support Royal Docks activities within Culture within Newham commissions programme. Work will be delivered in collaboration with local partners, Creative Connectors and Creative Network cultural engagement groups.

 
Budget breakdown

2.24.    The budget breakdown is detailed in the table below: 

2.25.    Further information on the detailed budget breakdown for each project is in Part 2 of this decision form. 

2.26.    Following this approval, the RDT will commence provision of grant funding; and full due diligence for the proposed projects to ensure that services are properly procured, and that any funding and contracts are distributed fairly and transparently, in accordance with the GLA’s equality policy, Subsidy Control principles, and in a manner that affords value for money in accordance with the GLA Contracts and Funding Code. This will be done in conjunction with TfL Procurement and TfL Legal.

2.27.    The Royal Docks Cultural Placemaking Strategy focuses on building a sustainable legacy, within the timeframe of the Delivery Plan, to achieve its vision to become a major cultural quarter with long-term community and economic benefits. The RDT is developing plans for additional sources of income to support the programme now and in the future. Therefore, sponsorship, funding, and other relevant and appropriate income and concessions will be sought to support events in 2024-26. All external income sought will be in accordance with the GLA Sponsorship Policy.

2.28.    In addition to cash income, the RDT will also seek benefit in kind, to assist in the enhancement and promotion of events.

Expected outcomes

Raise profile

2.29.    by 2026, the Royal Docks will be increasingly positioned and perceived as a dynamic ‘mixed-use’ waterside destination, with a clear and compelling offer that engages and attracts investors, communities, businesses and visitors alike. Strengthened partnership working and collaboration on branding, marketing and communications will have boosted the area’s profile, helping to accelerate and maximise the regeneration of the Royal Docks. Fairness, equality, inclusivity and sustainability will be hallmarks of the area’s identity and success, as the RDT’s values of good growth and community wealth building are championed and shared. Communities will determine and deliver their own projects to improve life in the Royal Docks, contributing to a shared sense of belonging and pride in the local area.

Attract and engage audiences

2.30.    Increases in content by 2026 include further extension of ExCeL’s immersive waterside ticketed offer; the opening of Compressor House as a digital hub run by the Really Local Group; and a new café operator at Thames Barrier Park, as well as other cultural venues and workspaces including (potentially) the Soldier of Orange (a new meanwhile theatre), Ironworks and The Pump House – new creative workspace/venues in Canning Town/Royal Victoria Dock. The ATD summer programme will have increased in scope, with an extended run and opening times for Royal Docks Summer Splash, helping to drive awareness and footfall. This will have resulted in a significant increase in footfall, with a collective measurable increase in attendance at key events of 85 per cent. The number of cultural/leisure events and placemaking activities will have increased and enhanced social amenities and a more diverse food and beverage offer will have helped boost positive perceptions of the Royal Docks as an attractive place to live, work and visit. 

Empower culture and creativity

2.31.    By 2026 the cultural ecosystem will have further matured, providing opportunities for cultural and creative professionals, residents and young people, attracting the relocation of artists and creatives to the area and having a positive impact on residents’ sense of creative engagement, wellbeing and cohesion. Young people will begin to think of arts, culture and creativity as being ‘for the likes of me’, and a possible, and positive, lifestyle and career choice. There will have been a good take-up on available traineeships and apprenticeships. Membership of engagement groups and participation opportunities will have increased, and will reflect the diversity of the area. Cultural providers in the Royal Docks will have benefited from more exposure, commissions and partnership with each other. Workspace providers will increasingly look to the Royal Docks as an option and developers will see the opportunity in making cultural infrastructure. Work coming out of the Royal Docks will be recognised as having a distinctive voice and sensibility. RDO Festival 2025 will have successfully contributed to the development of these objectives, attracting significant audiences and media attention; engaging with several residents; and providing employment and training to young people, platforms, and commissions to local artists.

Expected outputs

2.32.    The expected outputs are listed in the table below:
 

3.1.    Section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010 provides that, in the exercise of their functions, public authorities must have due regard to the need to:

•    eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010
•    advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it
•    foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. 

3.2.    Protected characteristics under the 2010 Act are: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and marriage or civil partnership status (the duty in respect of this last characteristic is to eliminate unlawful discrimination only). 

3.3.    An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) was prepared in 2023 to support the development of this new Royal Docks Delivery Plan. As the 2024 Delivery Plan was developed as a continuation of the Royal Docks programme, the EqIA sets out how the proposed programme of activity might impact different groups, including those who share protected characteristics. 

3.4.    The EqIA assessment makes recommendations for how any potential adverse equality effects may be mitigated, and any potentially positive equality effects enhanced. These recommendations were used to inform the 2024 Delivery Plan, with further detail about how they may be actioned and monitored. 

3.5.    Strategic Outcome 3 projects will directly contribute to the Mayor of London’s key strategies and policies as set out below. These policies and strategies are underpinned by a very clear commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion; and are central to the RDT’s ambitions for the Royal Docks as a sustainable, liveable and cohesive place that prioritises the wellbeing and prosperity of all its communities. 

3.6.    Marketing, communications and engagement activity will reach out to and engage with a diverse range of audiences, which includes local communities, visitors, investors, occupiers, businesses, the media, collaborators and stakeholders. This includes investment promotion campaigns that showcase the RDT’s values of community wealth building and responsible growth – to help attract the right type of investment and development for the area. It also includes the development and delivery of inclusive and accessible marketing, communications, and engagement activities to both champion and celebrate the rich diversity and culture of the area and ensure all sections of the community can influence and benefit from the area’s regeneration.

3.7.    The cultural placemaking programme is likewise planned to be inclusive and aimed at all Londoners, culturally and socially, achieved through the programme content on which residents and creatives consult; the broad and targeted approach to marketing channels; and access facilities at events and activities. While many of the events and activities within the programme engage directly with specific community stakeholder groups in their planning and highlight the contribution of specific communities, all the events and activities are about bringing different communities together, sharing cultures and supporting social integration.

3.8.    Equalities considerations will also be considered by the GLA in connection with all work procured, with the GLA Equalities Officer consulted to help ensure approaches are inclusive and accessible. Any recruitment required due to staff changes during the two-year period will fully comply with the Equality Act 2010 and fulfil the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty as set out in the section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010.

3.9.    This decision is therefore expected to have positive impacts on persons with a protected characteristic under the Equality Act.
 

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.1.    Strategic Outcome 3 of the Royal Docks EZ Delivery Plan will deliver against a range of Mayor of London policies including the London Plan; the Economic Development Strategy; the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy; Culture for all Londoners; A Vision for a 24-Hour City; the Strategy for Social Integration; and the Healthy Streets Approach. It is aligned with the Mayor’s Equalities Framework to consider the requirements of relevant equalities groups.

4.2.    The overall objective of this approval is to accelerate and maximise the regeneration of the Royal Docks EZ and the wider opportunity area, through successful cultural placemaking and place marketing. Over the next plan period, there will be a stronger focus on strategic partnerships and place-based working, with RDT using its resource and influence to help convene, facilitate, broker and support partners to deliver cohesive, sustainable, vibrant places where people want to live, work and visit. The proposed initiatives and interventions set out have been informed by the ongoing involvement and input of stakeholders and local communities. 

4.3.    There are no conflicts of interest to declare from anyone involved in the drafting or clearance of this Decision form.

Key risks and issues

4.4.    The key risks and issues are outlined in the table below:

5.1.    The Executive Director of Housing & Land’s approval is sought for revenue expenditure of up to £1.89m for a two-year programme of activity from 2024-25 to 2025-26 that aims to deliver a series of initiatives in cultural placemaking, marketing, communications, and community engagement, to help transform the Royal Docks into a distinctive and attractive place to live, work and visit. Details of the spend and profile is provided in section 2 and under the table in paragraph 2.24 above.

5.2.    The funding for this expenditure is expected to be from the ringfenced EZ business-rate income collected within the Enterprise Zone, as agreed in MD3230. Expenditure budget for this and EZ business-rate income funding has been factored into the 2024-25 to 2026-27 Royal Docks budget plans, however, this is subject to final 2024-25 budget approval. Therefore, to mitigate against risk of insufficient funding, a break clause should be included in the contracts, should funding change for future years. Any shortfall in income for future years would also be expected to be met with available funds from the Royal Dockside EZ Reserve Account.
 

6.1.    The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Executive Director concern the exercise of the GLA’s general powers, falling within the GLA’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further or that are facilitative of, or conducive or incidental to, the promotion of economic development and wealth creation, social development and the improvement of the environment in Greater London. In formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought, officers have complied with the GLA’s related statutory duties to:

•    pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people
•    consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom
•    consult with appropriate bodies.

6.2.    In taking the decisions requested, the Executive Director must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty – namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010; and to advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations, between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation) and persons who do not (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Executive Director should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

6.3.    All procurements of works, services and supplies required must be procured in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code; and, where the value exceeds £150,000, in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (the Regulations). Furthermore, the officers must liaise with TfL’s procurement and supply chain team, which will determine the detail of the procurement strategy to be adopted in accordance with the Contracts and Funding Code and the Regulations. Officers must ensure that appropriate contractual documentation be put in place and executed by chosen service provider/supplier and the GLA before the commencement of the attendant works, services or supplies.

6.4.    Sections 1 and 2, above, indicate that the contribution of part of the sum sought amounts to the provision of grant funding and not payment for works, supplies or services. Officers must ensure that the funding be distributed fairly, transparently, in accordance with the GLA’s equalities and with the requirements of section 12 of the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code.

6.5.    Furthermore, officers must ensure that an appropriate funding agreement be put in place between and executed by the GLA and the recipient before: any commitment to fund is made; and funding is paid to the recipient.

6.6.    The GLA may seek sponsorship when exercising its section 30 general power under its power to charge third parties for discretionary services under section 93 of the Local Government Act 2003 provided that the charges levied do not exceed the costs of provision.

6.7.    If the delegation proposed in this DD be approved, the entry into such sponsorship arrangements may be approved by the Assistant Director, Land and Development and the Assistant Director, Land and Development may agree and execute sponsorship agreements governing those arrangements without the need for further DD/MD approvals.

6.8.    Under Section 38 of the Act the Mayor may delegate the exercise of the GLA’s functions to any GLA staff member.

6.9.    Officers must ensure that sponsorship is sought in accordance with the sponsorship policy and appropriate sponsorship agreements be put in between and executed by the GLA and sponsor(s) before any reliance is placed on the sponsorship income and/benefits in kind.