Funding pledged for a library in a Brent housing development and a Haringey community cafe, along with an £85 million drive to make London’s polluted streets healthier (and boost your property’s value)

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced £4 million funding over the next four years for 25 community-led projects across the city through his Crowdfund London scheme, supported by the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP) and crowdfunding website Spacehive. Local regeneration proposals in Camden, Hackney, Brent and Haringey will all receive funding.

Amongst the projects is the Camden Highline, to which the Mayor is allocating £2,500 to create a public garden atop a disused overground line between Camden Town and King’s Cross.

In Hackney, the Well Street Market has already been supported by the Mayor, whilst the Hoxton Hall Youth Music Shout Out will receive £10,000 to fund the transformation of the building into a digital art and recording facility. Hackney’s RIOgeneration will receive £40,000 to refurbish the local exterior of the art deco cinema and create a second screen.

In Haringey, a disused bowling club building will receive £25,000 to be refurbished, creating a community hub to deliver social skills and food plots at Café Connect. The £9,000 allocated to the Shine Café on Turnpike Lane will support the homeless as well as those with drug and alcohol problems, whilst providing space for exhibitions.

Cricklewood Library in Brent will receive £40,000 to build a new library on the ground floor of a new housing development. The donation puts the library on track to reach its target of £120,000 by September 25.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m pledging support to an extraordinary range of local groups for projects that will help strengthen their local places and make London an even greater city.”

The Mayor has also announced an £85.9 million funding project as part of his community-led Healthy Streets and Liveable Neighbourhoods programmes to improve the quality and health of local streets in the capital.

In May it was revealed that polluted streets can knock up to 15 per cent off of a property’s asking price.

Successful bids will make local communities more attractive, accessible and pleasant to live in by establishing green spaces, cycle routes, and redesigned junctions.

Mr Khan, said: “I’ve set out bold plans to transform the way Londoners move around our city to improve our health, air quality and future prosperity. London’s boroughs are key partners in delivering this vision and through this new funding we can make a real difference by supporting the projects that local people want to see. This will ensure that the improvements really work for our local communities, transforming our town centres...”

Cllr Julian Bell, Chair of London Councils’ Transport and Environment Committee, said: “London’s boroughs work hard to transform neighbourhoods and provide additional facilities for local people and visitors to enjoy. We welcome this funding, which will help us create beautiful and – crucially - functional spaces where we can promote sustainable methods of transport, such as walking and cycling, and reduce the impact of pollution.”