Education

Greenwich launches largest ever Neighbourhood Growth Fund with community voting in focus

Sunday, 21 September 2025 4:04AM UTC

Applications are now open for Greenwich’s record-breaking £1 million Neighbourhood Growth Fund, empowering residents to shape local projects through grants and voting, as part of wider London-wide green and community initiatives.

Applications are now open for the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s largest ever Neighbourhood Growth Fund, a £1 million initiative designed to channel developers’ contributions directly back into local communities. The fund offers grants ranging from £2,500 to £35,000, enabling local groups to bid for projects that enhance neighbourhood facilities and infrastructure. Importantly, residents will have the opportunity to vote on shortlisted projects, giving them a direct say in how the money is spent.

This fund is financed through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which collects payments from developers to offset the impact of new housing and commercial development in the borough. Since its launch in 2018, the Greenwich Neighbourhood Growth Fund has awarded over £2.5 million to 157 projects, with past successes including improvements to school playgrounds, tennis courts, walking and cycling infrastructure, and community facilities such as sensory gardens and digital inclusion programmes.

Cllr Anthony Okereke, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, emphasised the council’s commitment to ensuring that development delivers benefits beyond new homes. He stated, “Development should mean more than new houses and flats, so we’re making sure that we put developers’ cash to good use in a way that benefits the whole borough.” His colleague, Cllr Majid Rahman, Cabinet Member for Planning, Estate Renewal and Development, added that the fund reflects the council’s ethos of being “pro development, pro investment, and pro giving back to residents.” He highlighted the importance of resident participation in shaping local improvements through the public voting process.

The Greenwich Neighbourhood Growth Fund sits within a broader landscape of London-wide initiatives aimed at enhancing green and community spaces. For example, the Mayor of London recently launched the Green Roots Fund, a £12 million programme that provides grants ranging from £10,000 to £500,000 to local authorities and not-for-profit organisations. This fund focuses on improving parks, wetlands, rivers, and community gardens to create greener, healthier, and more climate-resilient neighbourhoods across the capital. Similarly, the Civic Partnership Programme offers £12.85 million to support regeneration projects addressing inequality in areas undergoing transformation.

Other noteworthy environmental initiatives include the Grow Back Greener Fund, which between 2020 and 2023 invested over £4 million in community-led projects enhancing tree planting, river restoration, and green space creation in areas with low tree canopy cover. Reflecting ongoing commitments, the Mayor of London awarded an additional £2 million in 2023 to increase tree planting and improve green spaces in several boroughs, including Greenwich, where over 2,500 trees were planted in Coldharbour Woods to establish a new woodland.

While the Greenwich Neighbourhood Growth Fund focuses on community infrastructure improvements through relatively small grants, other funding streams like the Green Finance Fund, launched in 2023, provide substantial loans—up to £500 million—to accelerate large-scale projects that help London meet its net-zero targets. This demonstrates the diverse range of financial mechanisms supporting London’s environmental sustainability and community development goals.

Local groups interested in applying for the Greenwich Neighbourhood Growth Fund must submit their applications by midnight on Monday 1 December. Following a rigorous assessment process, residents will be invited to vote on shortlisted bids, ensuring community voices continue to influence neighbourhood enhancements directly.

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Source: Noah Wire Services

More on this

https://london-post.co.uk/applications-open-for-the-largest-ever-greenwich-neighbourhood-growth-fund/ - Please view link - unable to able to access data
https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/environment-and-climate-change/parks-green-spaces-and-biodiversity/green-roots-fund - The Green Roots Fund is a £12 million initiative launched by the Mayor of London to enhance green and blue spaces across the capital. It offers grants ranging from £10,000 to £500,000 to local authorities and not-for-profit organisations for projects that improve parks, community gardens, wetlands, and rivers. The fund aims to make neighbourhoods greener, healthier, and more climate resilient, addressing issues like inequality and biodiversity loss. The next application deadline is 22 January 2026, with projects lasting up to two years.
https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/shaping-local-spaces/regeneration-funding-opportunities/civic-partnership-programme - The Civic Partnership Programme (CPP) is a £12.85 million grant-funding initiative targeting areas where local authority regeneration objectives align with Mayoral priorities. Running from 2023 to 2027, the programme supports projects that combat long-standing inequalities and support areas undergoing change. It offers two elements: CPP Strategy funding for developing place-based regeneration strategies and CPP Exemplar funding for delivering capital projects identified through these strategies.
https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/environment-and-climate-change/parks-green-spaces-and-biodiversity/parks-and-green-spaces/grow-back-greener-fund - The Grow Back Greener Fund, operational from 2020 to 2023, awarded over £4 million to 135 community-led projects across London. The fund focused on planting trees, restoring rivers, and creating green spaces to enhance climate resilience. It prioritised areas with low tree canopy cover and poor access to green spaces. Projects included tree planting, river restoration, and the creation of community gardens and allotments.
https://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-awards-further-ps2-million-increase-tree-planting-and-green-space-across-capital - In 2023, the Mayor of London awarded an additional £2 million to increase tree planting and green space across the capital. The funding supported projects like Coldharbour Woods in Greenwich, which planted over 2,500 trees to create a new woodland in an underused open space. Other projects included Come’n’Grow Trees in Lewisham and Southall Market Pocket Park in Ealing, aiming to enhance green spaces and climate resilience.
https://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-launches-new-ps12m-green-roots-fund-boost-capitals-green-and-blue-spaces - In June 2025, the Mayor of London launched the £12 million Green Roots Fund to make neighbourhoods across the capital greener, healthier, and more climate resilient. The fund supports the creation and improvement of green and blue spaces, such as parks, community gardens, wetlands, and rivers. Grants ranging from £10,000 to £500,000 are available over the next three years to community groups, boroughs, and stakeholders for projects that restore habitats and reintroduce lost species.
https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-and-strategies/environment-and-climate-change/climate-change/zero-carbon-london/london-climate-finance-facility/green-finance-fund - The Green Finance Fund, launched in 2023, offers loans up to £500 million to projects that help London meet its net-zero ambitions. Aimed at accelerating decarbonisation, the fund provides low-interest rates and flexible loan terms to eligible organisations. The minimum loan size is £1 million, which can consist of aggregated expenditure for smaller projects. The fund is open for expressions of interest until 4 September 2025.

Noah Fact Check Pro

The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may warrant further investigation.

Freshness check

Score: 8

Notes: The narrative was published on 20 September 2025. The earliest known publication date of substantially similar content is 19 September 2025, when the Royal Borough of Greenwich announced the opening of the Greenwich Neighbourhood Growth Fund. ([royalgreenwich.gov.uk](https://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/news/2025/applications-open-our-largest-ever-greenwich-neighbourhood-growth-fund?utm_source=openai)) The London Post's report appears to be a republished version of the council's announcement, with no significant new information or updates. This suggests the content is recycled, which may affect its freshness score. Additionally, the London Post is a low-quality site, which further diminishes the freshness score. The narrative is based on a press release from the Royal Borough of Greenwich, which typically warrants a high freshness score. However, the lack of new information and the recycling of content from the council's announcement suggest a lower freshness score.

Quotes check

Score: 7

Notes: The direct quotes from Cllr Anthony Okereke and Cllr Majid Rahman in the narrative are identical to those in the council's announcement. ([royalgreenwich.gov.uk](https://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/news/2025/applications-open-our-largest-ever-greenwich-neighbourhood-growth-fund?utm_source=openai)) This indicates that the quotes have been reused without modification, which may affect the originality score. The lack of new or exclusive quotes suggests a lower originality score.

Source reliability

Score: 4

Notes: The narrative originates from the London Post, a low-quality site. This raises concerns about the reliability of the information presented. The London Post's reputation for publishing recycled content and lack of original reporting further diminishes the reliability score.

Plausability check

Score: 9

Notes: The claims made in the narrative align with the information provided in the council's official announcement. ([royalgreenwich.gov.uk](https://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/news/2025/applications-open-our-largest-ever-greenwich-neighbourhood-growth-fund?utm_source=openai)) The details about the fund's size, grant amounts, and application process are consistent across both sources. The narrative's content is plausible and corroborated by the council's official communication.

Overall assessment

Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): FAIL

Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH

Summary: The narrative is a recycled version of the Royal Borough of Greenwich's official announcement, with no significant new information or updates. The use of identical quotes and the lack of original reporting from the London Post further diminish the content's originality and reliability. While the claims made are plausible and corroborated by the council's official communication, the recycled nature of the content and the low-quality source lead to an overall assessment of 'FAIL'.

Greenwich
Community Development
Funding
London