Assembly backs our resident empowerment fund!
In a formal amendment to the Mayor of London’s draft budget, the Assembly has backed the Green proposal for a Resident Empowerment Reserve Fund.
Formal amendments to the Mayor’s budget are very rare, but the case we made for the fund was so strong, the Assembly voted by a majority to put £500,000 from the Business Rates Reserve into supporting Londoners who want to make their own plans for their homes and local areas.
Further funds could be added to this in future, for example by using developer contributions and the resources landlords are already asked to provide for resident support in the estate ballot process.
Representative resident groups affected by major developments would be able to bid for grants from this fund. As a result, they would be empowered to influence changes that affect their homes and their lives in our city.
Caroline Russell proposed the amendment for the Green Group of AMs, saying:
“This fund is intended to provide a meaningful way for Londoners to engage effectively with the planning system and play their full part in shaping the future of our neighbourhoods across London. The Assembly has heard from Londoners about the difficulties they face when engaging with major planning proposals. This idea could also help improve participation in estate resident ballots.
“I am delighted that our amendment for a Resident Empowerment Reserve Fund today received cross-party support and therefore passed. This fund will help level the planning playing field for Londoners. I hope the Mayor listens to the Assembly and includes it in his final budget in February.”
This success builds on many years of Green work supporting residents to win more power over their homes, including a huge win in getting the Mayor to add resident ballots to his funding conditions for estates.
The full introduction to the amendment says:
Work by the London Assembly has consistently highlighted problems faced by residents across London around engaging with processes that affect their homes and communities
For example, the requirement for resident ballots is a positive initiative from the Mayor, but information from residents facing ballots on a number of estates has revealed a range of issues including the lack of a level playing field for residents who wish to oppose demolition plans, with large amounts being spent by landlords to secure a ‘yes’ vote.
In addition, although the Mayor’s Good Practice Guide to Estate Regeneration, Better Homes for Local People, mandates that independent capacity-building resources, advocacy support and advisors are made available to residents, in practice this is frequently offered only through processes of communication in which residents are either left unaware or have little confidence in its independence.
More widely, in the planning system, residents seeking to oppose or propose changes to major development plans under the remit of the Mayor’s planning powers, have no access to independent expert support to assess the impact of plans or develop alternatives. This issue has been highlighted in a recent investigation by the Planning and Regeneration Committee.
Therefore, we believe that there would be huge benefits if, at GLA level, there were a source of truly independent funding for residents seeking to empower themselves to engage fully in these processes.
(Public Pack)Minutes – Appendix 5 – City Hall Greens Amendment Minutes Supplement for London Assembly (Plenary), 26/01/2022 10:00
In the case of estate ballots, residents would be able to use this fund to independently commission the advice and advocacy support they need, in which they could have full confidence.
In the case of major planning applications, expert analysis and verification of claims by developers could be achieved in a truly independent way, which would aid the Mayor in his decision making and create the ability to get expert help to devise credible community-led people’s plans for major development sites.
Representative resident groups affected by major developments would be able to bid for grants from this fund. As a result, they would be genuinely empowered to influence changes that affect their homes and their lives in our city.
This amendment proposes that a Resident Empowerment Reserve Fund is created, initially with £500,000 taken from the Business Rates Reserve. Further funds could be added to this in future, for example by using developer contributions and the resources landlords are already asked to provide for resident support in the ballot process.
Representative resident groups affected by major developments would be able to bid for grants from this fund. As a result, they would be genuinely empowered to influence changes that affect their homes and their lives in our city.