Mayor allocates £6 million to revitalise London's parks and green spaces

In June the Mayor of London announced a £6 million funding package to clean up and improve London’s rundown green spaces, with Londoners getting the final say on which areas will benefit. The money for this programme comes from further savings made from the former administration’s publicity budget following the scrapping of The Londoner newspaper.

How will the money be divided up?

The scheme expects to improve about 10 sites with up to £400 000 funding each. Subject to securing match funding, one or two large parks that are in need of major restoration may be supported, with a larger grant of between £1 and £2 million.

How will sites be selected to receive funding?

See the diagram on the left. Local authorities have been invited to nominate by 15th September up to three sites each to be considered for inclusion on the voting list to secure up to £400,000, and one site that could potentially receive a large grant funding. The final list of candidates will be selected by an Expert Panel. Londoners will then have the chance to vote online for which green spaces will benefit from the funding.

What criteria will the expert panel use?

The expert panel will take into account:

• The authority's ability to deliver significant enhancement within two years (or three for the larger grant) which will make a real visible difference on the ground;
• Public safety and/or cleanliness/litter management;
• The need for a stronger sense of welcome or improvements to accessibility;
• The potential for significant landscape improvements which, where appropriate, will include biodiversity enhancements; ·
• Size and level of use - preference will be given to sites that have potential to be used by a large number of people.

In addition, the panel will consider whether the site

• has been identified as a priority for improvement in Borough Open Space Strategy or similar document; ·
• lies in an area of social deprivation, identified as an Area for Regeneration in the London Plan
• has been identified as a priority in the London Plan Implementation Report Improving Londoners' access to nature
• lies within a regional park opportunity area as identified in the London Plan; ·
• has been  identified in a sub-regional or other strategy (e.g. East London Green Grid) as a priority for improvement.