The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has revealed the first projects to be supported by a £112 million investment fund, generated from growth in business rate receipts in the capital.

Part of the funding announced today will go directly into the Mayor’s already established Good Growth Fund, which will be used to support a range of community projects across London, as well as new affordable artists’ workspaces in parts of London undergoing wider regeneration and a study into the economic opportunities in London’s West End.

The money has been awarded from the Mayor’s £112 million Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), which was established following last year’s landmark deal between the Mayor, London’s boroughs, the City of London Corporation and central Government.

Under the terms of the deal, the capital will retain 100 per cent of any increase in business rate receipts above the Government’s baseline during the financial year 2018/2019.

The SIF was established to invest the Mayor’s share of the retained business rates in projects which will contribute to the sustainable growth of London’s economy, which in turn will result in an increase in London’s overall business rate income.

The first tranche of funding is as follows:

• £5 million to boost the Mayor’s Good Growth Fund. The Mayor launched the Good Growth Fund in June 2017 to support growth and community development in which Londoners themselves play an active role. It has supported projects including improvements to the world-famous Undercroft skate park at the South Bank Centre and the regeneration of shop fronts and public spaces in local town centres such as Plumstead High Street. This additional £5 million will enable more community projects to be funded.

• £1.16 million investment in affordable workspaces: Second Floor Studios & Arts in Deptford (which include 80 studios for visual artists) and Studio Voltaire in Clapham (which will provide 7,900 sq ft of affordable workspaces for artists).
• £50,000 for a study into the impacts and opportunities of good growth in London’s West End: the study – a partnership between the Mayor and Westminster City Council, which will also fund the project – will explore how the economic potential of this world-famous shopping and entertainment district can be maximised.

A total of £90 million will allocated from the SIF over the next year.