Richmond upon Thames is set to inject £1.1 million into local projects, boosting community infrastructure and facilities. The funding aims to support growth and address infrastructure needs arising from development within the borough.

The Richmond Community Fund, fuelled by the neighbourhood element of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), will distribute the funds across 14 organisations. The Finance, Policy and Resources Committee approved the allocations at their meeting on Thursday 20 November 2025.

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a levy that the council charges on many new developments in the borough. The 'neighbourhood element' (NCIL) is a specific proportion of CIL funding that must be used in the area affected by development and is to be spent on priorities agreed with the local community.

The 14 organisations were selected through a two-stage process. In the first stage, 31 applications were assessed against criteria such as eligibility, financial solvency, permissions for proposed works, meeting CIL regulations, and project feasibility. 22 applications passed this stage and were invited to submit a full application. These full applications were then assessed based on eligibility, due diligence checks, technical officer comments, feedback from local funders and Richmond CVS, officer assessment of suitability against priorities and impact assessments, and councillor comments. A panel of senior officers made the final recommendations.

Projects receiving funding include:

  • Barnes Community Arts Centre (the OSO): £50,190 towards a new floor.
  • Cambrian Community Centre: £75,000 for building upgrades.
  • Habitats & Heritage (Kew to Richmond): £6,500 for Grove Gardens Chapel, specifically a thermal destratification fan and TV screen.
  • Mortlake Hall: £92,195 for a kitchen extension, catering equipment, storage improvements, new chairs, and redecoration.
  • Orange Tree Theatre: £75,000 towards a wheelchair viewing platform and accessible toilet.
  • AfC (Powerstation Youth Centre): £20,000 for centre improvements.
  • St Luke's House: £96,000 for building renovations.
  • AfC (Heatham House): £47,000 towards refurbishment of the MUGA and a canopy for one of the skate ramps.
  • Habitats & Heritage (Grimwood): £11,566 towards a patio.
  • Hampton & Hampton Hill Voluntary Care (Greenwood Community Centre): £25,000 towards a boiler replacement and other improvement works.
  • Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club (HWRCC): £75,000 towards rebuilding the pavilion.
  • Marble Hill Playcentre: £25,000 towards rewiring, asbestos removal, and insulation.
  • Moormead Community Pavilion: £350,000 towards installing the community pavilion.
  • Teddington Theatre Club: £50,000 towards the heating system.

The committee will be asked to agree to open a supplementary round of the Community Fund programme in January 2026 for Ham and Petersham only, as no applications were received from these areas in Round 6.

The Public reports pack provides further details on the allocations.