Six East London projects awarded Mayor of London’s ‘High Streets for All’ funding

Hackney Wick and Fish Island Community Development Trust and five other East London organisations are amongst the 35 projects set to receive £20,000 each to address issues such as bringing vacant buildings into use, protecting cultural spaces and supporting employment on the high street.

The funds are part of Mayor of London’s overall £4m investment to innovative projects across the capital aimed at ensuring London’s high streets can flourish and thrive as we emerge from the pandemic.

One of the six successful projects is Hackney Wick Circular High Street, which has been working with local organisations to develop a circular approach to the area:

• establishing a circular high street in Hackney Wick by creating wayfinding and signposting to improve resident and visitor experience of the place, and spread footfall across the area
• establishing a circular economy – a practice to reuse, recycle and reduce waste and reduce carbon emissions – by bringing together communities, charity and civic organisations, businesses and institutions to design a strategy to tackle local environmental issues

Other successful projects include:

• Highams Park Community, Waltham Forest — Highams Park: Reimagining Highams Park District Centre to better suit the needs of the growing, younger, and more diverse population, by creating an active community space as a base for regular craft & food markets for local creatives and producers.
• Aldgate Connect , City of London — Middlesex Street: Supporting a unique London street by building on an existing public realm modernisation programme and well-established community engagement strategy, to develop a more inclusive high street.
• Pack London, Hackney — Morning Lane: Developing a new cultural hub that offers affordable business units for local food and creative industry traders, a community vegetable garden, children’s play area and public seating.
• Creative Land Trust, Newham — Stratford High Street: turning a long disused listed building into the high street’s creative hub, converting Heritage at Risk into jobs, economic activity, learning and inspiration for a reengaged local community.
• OnRedchurch CIC, Tower Hamlets – Redchurch Street: Creating a Place of Engagement, led by a new Community Interest Company, to leverage empty space, knowledge, skills and creativity for local benefit. The pilot project will bring innovation, diversity and social entrepreneurship to occupancies and improve the quality and value of the public realm.

The Foundation for Future London supports innovative, creative and locally information approaches to placemaking, developing the public realm and creating sustainable spaces for people in East London to work, live, study and play.

For more information about High Streets for All, see https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/new-funding-to-protect-future-of-high-streets

If you have a project idea that focuses on any of these themes, from greening local spaces to helping build London back better and fairer in Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets or Waltham Forest, make sure to check out our upcoming funding opportunities on our Grants pages.

Photo caption: Hackney Wick. Photographer: Anne Marie Michel