Southwark Council has £6m available to fund community projects, including public realm improvements that will enable safer and easier cycling across the borough. This is for permanent schemes and separate to ideas for temporary measures to manage the impact of Covid-19.

This money comes from the Community Infrastructure Levy. This is a levy raised on development schemes (new buildings such as housing, hotels or shops). The money is used by the council to fund local infrastructure projects.

A portion of this – almost £6m – has been designated as local CIL and is now available to spend on community projects that can be completed by 31 December 2023.

We are putting in bids for projects that will enable more cycling in your ward. So far our main focus is the local cycle network proposed in the 2015 Southwark Cycling Strategy, which remains unfunded. Projects we’re looking at include initial studies for new cycle routes, reallocating space for from cars to greenery, filtered streets with just access for people on bike and on foot, Santander cycle hire docking stations, and more. We’re looking for residents in wards across Southwark to work with us and support projects that will improve their area. If you’d like to support a bid in your area, contact us. Let us know what ward you live in, and if you have an idea for a project, tell us.

You can find your ward with your postcode here.

The deadline for submitting bids is 31 May and we will need to agree ideas then draw up bids well before then. We’ll still need your support after then to influence decisions by councillors on which schemes to prioritise, so do get in touch. Email us at Southwark@lcc.org.uk