Bids submitted jointly by Knightsbridge Partnership and local amenity groups have succeeded in winning grants worth around £80,000 for projects in the Hans Town Ward.

The new money, awarded by Kensington and Chelsea Council, will be spent on enhancing air quality monitoring and extending CCTV to improve security in the area.

The money comes from Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy funds collected by councils from local development projects to spend on improving the local infrastructure.

Steve Medway, Chief Executive of Knightsbridge Partnership, welcomed to outcome of the joint bids. “This just shows what we can achieve when businesses and residents work together to improve the area for all residents, employees and visitors.”

This was the first time that the new Knightsbridge Partnership Business Improvement District has worked with resident groups to submit bids for NCIL funds. Steve Medway commented “while we welcome this new funding that we have won together for the district, the process has shown some issues that we need to address to win more money in future rounds.”

Steve pointed to officer comments that parts of the projects proposed by Knightsbridge Partnership and resident groups would benefit other authorities, specifically Transport for London, who are responsible for the Brompton Road, and Westminster City Council who are responsible for the area north of the Brompton Road.

“This is good example of the problem that the Knightsbridge district faces,” said Steve.  “The Brompton Road is the boundary between the two councils and it has always been difficult to agree projects that cover the whole district.  This is made even more difficult because the Brompton Road itself is owned by Transport for London.  One of the major aims of Knightsbridge Partnership is to find ways for all these bodies to work together to deliver improvements across the whole district.”

Knightsbridge Partnership is discussing ways in which future bids for NCIL funds from both Kensington and Chelsea Council and Westminster City Council could cover projects that extend across the whole.

“At Knightsbridge Partnership’s first members event in October this year, we were delighted that the Leaders of both councils shared a platform and agreed to work more closely together on cross-boundary projects,” said Steve. “This is a good example of the need for this type of joint working.  We will do our best to persuade both councils to allow cross-boundary projects to be valid for next year’s NCIL bids.”

You can see the full decision here