A Rotherhithe nature reserve is one of seven community projects to receive £2.4 million from Southwark Council.
Opened in 1815 as a pond for drying out timber, the Lavender Pond Nature Reserve is one of the oldest urban nature reserves in the country.
Southwark Council will work with reserve managers The Conservation Volunteers and the resident-led Friends of Lavender Pond to improve the site.
Mike Turner, warden at the Lavender Pond Nature Reserve, said: “We welcome hundreds of visitors each year, from families and school groups, to wildlife enthusiasts and people just looking to connect with nature.
“We are so excited to… invest in our habitats, increase biodiversity and accessibility, and open up more ways to teach people about it all.”
Southwark Pensioners Centre will move to a former bookies in Camberwell
Other community projects looking forward to a cash injection include children’s play equipment at Camberwell Green, a pedestrian crossing for East Dulwich an Dulwich Grove, and a new community space for Peckham’s Leyton Square.
The money has been raised through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) – a levy that developers must pay towards community projects in exchange for building in the area.
Cllr Stephanie Cryan, Cabinet Member for Communities, Democracy & Finance, said: “In neighbourhoods across Southwark, development has created new homes, new jobs, and more trade.
“Local CIL money lets us make sure that this does not outpace local infrastructure needs and we invest the money right back into the neighbourhoods in which they were generated.”
Residents put forward more than 1,000 suggestions on how to use CIL money. Shortlisted projects were approved by the council’s cabinet according to their ward on 8 December 2020 and 19 January 2021.
Earlier this month, the council approved a £1 million package for Southwark Pensioners Centre to move into a new home, once again using CIL money.
Here are the other six community projects that will benefit from the latest round of funding:
- Children’s play equipment at Camberwell Green
- A pedestrian crossing for East Dulwich Road / Dulwich Grove
- Improvements to Leathermarket Gardens Community Hub
- A new gate and pedestrian crossing for Southwark Park Road
- A new community space for Leyton Square
- Improvements to Alexis Street playground and park