Hackney,
07
January
2022
|
10:29
Europe/London

Hackney Community Fund – new grants to bring Hackney together

Grants of up to £100,000 will be available to local groups and organisations in Hackney as part of a new fund using planning levies on developers to help strengthen Hackney’s communities and celebrate the borough’s extraordinary diversity.

The new Hackney Community Fund will make an initial £500,000 available for projects that celebrate the borough’s rich culture and strong sense of community, paid for through the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) –  a charge placed by the Council on developers who receive planning permission for new developments.

This builds on the success of the Shoreditch and Hoxton Arts Fund – a separate initiative which has used Section 106 charges placed on developers in the Shoreditch and Hoxton areas to fund £300,000 of local arts and culture-led community participation projects – including festivals, orchestras, poetry, community murals and a live soap opera.

Grants of between £5,000 and £100,000 will be made available to  formally constituted groups, organisations and charities in the borough for projects that benefit Hackney residents, support the cultural development of a neighbourhood, ward, street or estate. 

Projects can be physical, cultural or social, and must help nurture and invest in Hackney’s community spirit – bringing people together in a changing borough and ensuring Hackney remains a place for everyone.

Cllr Guy Nicholson, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing Supply, Planning, Culture and Inclusive Economy

Cllr Guy Nicholson, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing Supply, Planning, Culture and Inclusive Economy, said: “The popularity of Hackney as a place to live and work has resulted in more new development in our town centres and across our neighbourhoods.

“We have always set out to ensure that the benefits of new development are felt by everyone and –  as we move on from the pandemic – it’s more important than ever that Hackney’s growth puts local people first.

“The new Hackney Community Fund is one of the ways the Council is ensuring that new development in the borough invests into the wider community to celebrate community and ensure that Hackney remains a place for everyone.”

Cllr Guy Nicholson, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing Supply, Planning, Culture and Inclusive Economy

The Hackney Community Fund will make an initial £500,000 available for projects that enhance and strengthen the borough’s rich cultural diversity, foster a sense of community and support the Council’s efforts to ensure a fair recovery from the pandemic in Hackney. 

Applications are open from 12 January 2022 to 20 March 2022. 

Find out more online.