Have your say on community improvement cash
There is still time for local residents to come up with ideas and suggestions on the best ways of spending windfall cash that’s been secured from developers to pay for community benefits.
The Wandsworth Local Fund (WLF) is a levy the council makes on developers to help pay for the infrastructure needed to support new housing schemes.
Now the council is asking local people what they think the money should be spent on. Should it be invested in schools, better transport links, improvements to parks and open spaces or in other ways that make Wandsworth a better place to live and work?
The WLF is the neighbourhood element of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). The CIL is mostly spent on strategic large-scale projects, but 15 per cent is earmarked for smaller improvement schemes.
The money can however only be spent on projects that do not require on-going or continuous funding.
Council leader Ravi Govindia said: “There is a lot of regeneration work happening in Wandsworth and this is delivering thousands of new homes and jobs. This is good news for the local economy and also for the job prospects of young people living in the borough.
“Our aim is to make sure that these benefits are also enjoyed by the wider community. We want to make sure that the WLF money we receive from developers brings tangible improvements to the lives of everyone living in our borough.
“Those who are best placed to tell us what those benefits should be are the people who live in Wandsworth. They know better than anyone the kinds of smaller localised projects that will make a positive difference to their neighbourhoods.”
The council is also asking neighbourhood groups, residents’ associations, local amenity groups, young people, schools, colleges and local businesses to come up with ideas and suggestions. Later this year a shortlist of schemes and projects will be drawn up and people will be asked to choose which ideas they like best.
To make a suggestion visit www.wandsworth.gov.uk/WLF and register your views. Alternatively you can request a paper copy of the questionnaire by calling (020) 8871 6084. The consultation lasts until March 31.
March 16, 2014