This report provides an update on the outcome of Round 2 of the Mayor of London’s ‘Outer London Fund’, a fund provided for boroughs to deliver schemes to enhance the vibrancy and growth of London’s high streets and local areas.

Further to Minute 875/11 the outcomes of round two of the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund (OLF), to provide for boroughs to deliver schemes to enhance the vibrancy and growth of London’s high streets and local areas was reported.  Of three bids that had been submitted, two had received an offer of funding.  These were for projects in North Cheam and Worcester Park (NCWP) and Hackbridge. The total funding offered to the borough is £2.02m.

The North Cheam and Worcester Park bid’s objectives were to foster collaboration with community and business groups; enhance the public realm to improve public spaces and accessibility and movement; ensure economic uplift of the centres and shape distinct and characterful places.  It included the following proposals:

·                     Set up a Member and Stakeholder Group, led by Ward Councillors, to oversee and guide the project development and implementation.

·                     Implement an integrated transport package of works across North Cheam and Worcester Park to improve accessibility to the centres with a particular focus on improving conditions for those walking, cycling and using public transport.

·                     Enhance the character and appearance of the centres through improving the public realm and offering shop front grants to traders to refurbish historic frontages.

·                     Improve access to Worcester Park Railway Station from the town centre, and from Green Lane, with new and/or enhanced pedestrian links to the station.

·                     Work with businesses across both district centres to develop a package of support to enable economic uplift. Work in partnership with Scola’s Business School to ‘incubate’ new businesses.

·                     Work in partnership with TfL and Sainsbury’s, North Cheam, to review and if possible make improvements to parking provision for the centre.

·                     Improve the appearance of vacant properties and/or implement a ‘meanwhile space’ project (i.e. making use of vacant properties with community or entrepreneurial uses).

·                     Run a series of events and activities (e.g. street markets) in the centres to increase footfall.

·                     Evaluate and monitor the effects of the projects.

A Project Manager and a Project Coordinator had been appointed to progress these initiatives, funded by project funds.  In order to help the project meet the required timescales it was suggested that delegated authority was given to the Executive Head of Planning and Transport and the relevant Lead Councillor to agree the grant agreement with the GLA.  Details of how the project was to be taken forward were reported.

The Hackbridge Project had been developed by BioRegional, with the endorsement of the Council with the following objectives

·                     increase the resilience of the economic retail zone,

·                     enhance the environmental sustainability of the retail zone,

·                     improve access to the district centre and to nature.

The key proposed activities for the project were to:

·                     Develop and implement the project in collaboration with the Hackbridge Community Forum

·                     Work with local businesses to facilitate economic and environmental sustainability, enabling local businesses to grow and/or remain resilient in the face of large-scale development in Hackbridge yet reducing the impact on the local and global environment as part of the Hackbridge ‘sustainable suburb’ programme.

·                     Improve accessibility, safety and ease of movement for all with a particular focus on sustainable transport, including for pedestrians, cyclists, those using buses, links between the railway station and the town centre, and car club users in Hackbridge.

·                     Improve the appearance and character of Hackbridge through enhancements to the public realm and shop front grants for traders.

·                     Improve access to the open spaces adjacent to Hackbridge including Beddington Park, including creating leisure facilities (e.g. a ‘green’ walking/cycling route) and improving these open spaces where possible.

The project would be led by a delivery partnership board chaired by BioRegional. The Council is a lead partner on the project and the Hackbridge OLF project would form part of the Hackbridge Programme Portfolio, overseen by the Hackbridge Programme Manager.  The Hackbridge OLF Project will report to the Hackbridge Programme Board and, through this, the Council’s Major Projects and Programme Board as part of the Hackbridge Programme. The Council remained the accountable body for the funding.

The total amount of funding brought to the Council for the Outer London Fund projects was £2,018,649 of which £1,720,064 was capital and £298,585 was revenue. Funding for North Cheam and Worcester Park project amounted to £1,183,710 (£1,005,210 – capital, £178,500 – revenue). The project would be delivered by the Council with the procurement of consultants, as appropriate, to deliver elements of the project. Construction of physical elements of the project would be delivered via the Council’s existing framework contractors.  Funding for the Hackbridge project amounted to £834,939 (£714,854 – capital, £120,085 – revenue). The Council would be the accountable body for the funding.  Details of the costs of specific parts of each project and how they were to be financed were reported.

            Resolved:  (i)  To note the funding allocation and the outline of the project deliveries for the North Cheam and Worcester Park and Hackbridge projects in accordance with Sutton Council’s Project Management structure.

(ii)  To delegate authority to the Executive Head of Planning and Transport and the relevant Lead Councillor, to approve the North Cheam and Worcester Park Greater London Authority (GLA) funding agreement.

(iii)  To delegate authority to the Hackbridge Programme Manager and the Lead Councillor, to approve the Hackbridge GLA funding agreement;

(iv) To delegate authority to the Executive Head of Planning and Transport and the relevant Lead Councillor, to set up a Member and Stakeholder Group to advise and guide the Outer London Fund project for North Cheam and Worcester Park;

(v)  To delegate authority to the Hackbridge Programme Manager and the Lead Councillor, to set up a Hackbridge Project Delivery Board to oversee the Outer London Fund project for Hackbridge;

(vi)  That regular update reports about both OLF Projects be provided to the relevant committee.