Mayor of London pledges further £1.3 million for creative businesses in Croydon, Lambeth and Lewisham

By Joe Talora, Local Democracy Reporter

Creative businesses in Croydon, Lambeth and Lewisham are set to benefit from a further £1.3 million of funding from City Hall’s Creative Enterprise Zones scheme.

The three boroughs were some of the first to benefit from the scheme when it launched in 2018 as a means of providing workspaces, skills training and employment support to those in the creative industries.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has today announced that more creative businesses within the Croydon, Lambeth and Lewisham CEZs will each be awarded a share of £1.1 million from the programme as well as £200,000 from local councils.

Mr Khan said that the additional funding will be a “much-needed catalyst” for economic regeneration and growth in the areas by providing a “huge boost” to skills, training and jobs.

He said: “The creative industries have the power to drive our social and economic recovery through innovation and job creation but have been hit hard by the pandemic. That is why I am delighted to build on the success of the Creative Enterprise Zones in Croydon, Lambeth and Lewisham by supporting more talented Londoners into lasting careers in the sector.”

Some of the projects set to benefit from the funding include the Brixton Creative Works programme that provides one-to-one mentoring to aspiring artists and Win Creative Croydon that provides training for roles in the music industry.

Since the scheme was launched in 2018, Creative Enterprise Zones have been launched in Hounslow, Haringey, Waltham Forest, Hackney and Tower Hamlets as well as in Croydon, Lambeth and Lewisham.

It came as Sadiq Khan announced that six new CEZs would be launched in the next two years through a £3 million investment from City Hall.

The Mayor of London has said that the scheme has so far proved to be a “valuable springboard” for creative businesses across the capital.