The Royal Borough of Greenwich collected more than £16million in developer contributions last year from building development in the borough, with almost all of that going towards paying for vital social housing, healthcare and sport and education facilities.
The council’s annual Infrastructure Funding Statement, which is subject to Cabinet approval on 3 December, details over £5million that has been received through Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), a charge on new development, and over £11million from Section 106 (S106) planning obligations.
Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 are both crucial in ensuring local people benefit from development that happens in the borough. Last year, the council invested £14million of S106 money in local infrastructure – double what was invested the year before.
New homes
That included £7million investment in 99 social rent homes at Greenwich Millenium Village which has meant the council has been able to get more people off its housing register. A further £12.9million was committed to delivering the second phase of Greenwich Builds, the council’s award-winning council housebuilding programme, which has already delivered 588 homes with a further 1,200 to come.
Health
Other significant investments included £1.7million spent on increasing clinical capacity at Burney Street Medical Practice in Greenwich, £1million towards the delivery of the Kidbrooke Community Hub and health facilities, and a £1million investment in sports infrastructure across the borough.
Education
In addition, the council has committed nearly £13million of money raised by CIL to the delivery of Rowan Wood, a new Special Educational Needs (SEN) school in Kidbrooke. The council has also made £1million available to local community groups in this year’s Greenwich Neighbourhood Growth Fund. The deadline has been extended and until 15 December, local groups can bid for grants of between £2,500 and £35,000 to make improvements to their neighbourhoods.
Cllr Denise Hyland, Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Social Value, said: “Development should mean more than new private houses and flats, so we’re making sure that we put developers’ cash to good use in a way that benefits the whole borough.
“Our annual Infrastructure Funding Statement details how the money that is raised through development in the borough is clearly making a difference to residents’ lives whether that be getting people off our housing register by acquiring social rent properties at Greenwich Millenium Village or giving community groups access to our largest ever Greenwich Neighbourhood Growth Fund.
“It is once again proof that in Greenwich we not only know what really matters to our residents but that we work hard to get things done.”
The council’s CIL rate was reviewed and increased in 2024 after an independent review
to ensure that the benefits of growth and development are fairly redistributed to the communities most affected, and to help deliver the vital infrastructure needed to support that growth.