Grow Back Greener Fund - London

The Grow Back Greener Fund was first launched by the Mayor of London (United Kingdom) in 2020 to fund community projects that create and improve green spaces across London. The fund aims to help addressing inequalities in access to open space that were exposed in London during the Corona pandemic by prioritising projects in neighbourhoods with poor access to green space and high levels of deprivation. The fund provides grants to projects such as creating community gardens, river restoration, new wetlands or greening school playgrounds. The funded projects should focus on making physical improvements to the space, offer opportunities for Londoners to access training or develop new skills and should work with or be led by Londoners were less likely to access green space. The Grow Back Greener Fund is part of the London Recovery Board’s Green New Deal Mission, one of nine missions jointly developed by the Mayor and London Councils to guide the capital’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Grow Back Greener Fund also supports the Mayor’s commitment to London becoming the world’s first National Park City.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Economic and fiscal instruments›Payments as rewards/for ecosystem services, subsidies, incentives

Challenges addressed

Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Watershed restoration/water quality
Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Heat stress and heat island effect
Air quality
Social cohesion
Social equity
Nature appropriation / stewardship
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

The fund supports projects that create new green spaces; improve the quality of and access to existing green spaces; or open up previously inaccessible spaces. It also supports projects that aim to improve waterways and enhance London’s resilience to climate change through green and blue infrastructure, including nature-based solutions that reduce flood risk, improve water quality, create shade and cool the city. The project also supports tree planting projects that aim to provide shade and cool the city, making London more climate resilient.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Allotments, community gardens or agricultural areas

Blue areas

Green areas for water management

Derelict areas

Good practice characteristics:

Effective

Support multifunctional NBS

Sustainable in the long-term

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Inclusivity

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

Mayor of London

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

The fund is currently co-funded by the Mayor of London and Thames Water (private utility company) and managed by Groundwork (a private company).

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

The shortlisted grant applications are reviewed by a grants panel for consisting of officers from the Greater London Authority and Groundwork London (private company), as well as independent environment and community experts. The nature-based solutions funded by the Fund can be implemented by registered charities, formally constituted community groups, social and not-for-profit businesses, tenants and residents associations, housing associations, schools and local authorities. The project should include opportunities for Londoners to access training or develop new green skills and work with, or preferably be led by, Londoners who are less likely to access green space; this includes Black, Asian and minority ethnic Londoners, lower-income Londoners, LGBTQ+ Londoners, Deaf Londoners or those with a disability and those aged 65 and over.

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Citizen oversight (e.g. boards, advisory role)

Implementation of NBS (e.g. with government funds)

The grant applications are managed by a private company

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs

Coalition, please specify

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public local authority’s budget

Private utility company

Budget:

1 000 000€ - 5 000 000€

Details about instrument financing:

Grants of between ca. €12,000 - €90,000 (£10,000 - £75,000) are being made in the programme. Projects must have a minimum of 20% match funding. This match funding can be either cash or in-kind (for example, donated materials, or staff or volunteer time). In 2020 the Fund awarded almost €830,000 (£700,000). The 2021 Grow Back Greener Fund, co-funded by the Mayor of London and Thames Water awarded ca. €1,660,000 (£1,400,000). In 2022, a total of ca. €2,400,000 (£2,000,000) was made available.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Did an evaluation take place?:

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

The Fund has sponsored 34 community projects in 2020 and 45 in 2021. The projects are creating and improving green spaces across London and providing volunteering and training opportunities for Londoners, whilst helping to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies. By November 2022, these projects will have improved over 18 hectares of green space, included turning almost one hectare of grey to green, and involved over 5,000 Londoners as volunteers and trainees. Projects have included creating new community gardens, opening up previously inaccessible green spaces, converting grey road space to green, and greening housing estates, river restoration, new wetlands, greener school playgrounds and housing estates.

Success factors and lessons learned:

The fund targets established community organisations, ensuring the projects correctly respond to local needs and addresses multiple social and environmental objectives. It is helping to address the inequalities in access to open space highlighted by the pandemic by prioritising projects in neighbourhoods with poor access to green space and high levels of deprivation. To achieve this goal the fund prioritises projects led by Londoners who are less likely to access green space (e.g. minority ethnic, lower-income, LGBTQ+ Londoners, Deaf or those with a disability and those aged 65 and over). The funded projects also provide meaningful volunteering opportunities and opportunities to develop new skills. The sustainability of the projects is is supported as 20 per cent of the total grant can be used for maintenance costs that will be incurred beyond the end of the project period. The grant applicants must indicate how the projects will be maintained and how the community engagement will be sustained after the end of the project. The fund leverages contribution to local green spaces by voluntary work and promotes community building.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Mayor of London (2021), Grow Back Greener Fund 2021, Available at: https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/parks-green-spaces-and-biodiversity/green-space-funding/grow-back-greener-fund-2021#acc-i-64401

Mayor of London (2022), Grow Back Greener Fund 2022, Available at: https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/parks-green-spaces-and-biodiversity/green-space-funding/grow-back-greener-fund-2022#acc-i-66937

Mayor of London (2021), Grow Back Greener Fund 2021 - Grants guide. Available at: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/grow_back_greener_fund_2021_grants_guide_final.pdf

Mayor of London (2022), Grow Back Greener Fund 2022 - Grants guide. Available at: https://www.london.gov.uk/publications/grow-back-greener-fund-2022-4

Mayor of London (2020), Grow Back Greener Fund 2020, Available at: https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/parks-green-spaces-and-biodiversity/green-space-funding/grow-back-greener-fund-2020#acc-i-62209

Further documents

Weblinks:

https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/parks-green-spaces-and-biodiver…

Photos

@Groundwork