Mayor’s Regeneration Fund (MRF)

The Mayor's Regeneration Fund allocated £70 million to areas of London affected by the 2011 civil disturbances, funding 23 projects across 9 boroughs and 13 locations. The Greater London Authority partnered with boroughs to select projects against five criteria: deliverability, vibrancy and growth, place-shaping, collaboration and support, and geographic suitability.

The fund's objective was to deliver a targeted, accelerated and multi-agency approach to regeneration, helping to create safer, more attractive, more vibrant and more economically successful places to live, work and invest in.

The GLA's review records nearly 84,000 m2 of public-realm improvements, 18,000 m2 of new commercial floorspace, 73 buildings improved and 13 vacant buildings returned to use, 660 jobs created and 1,100 safeguarded, 200 new businesses created, 415 businesses supported, and 324 new apprenticeships with 1,500 people trained or advised. The review notes that impact takes 5-10 years to become apparent in the data, and the programme informed later funds (London Regeneration Fund, High Street Fund, Good Growth Fund).

Key learnings from the review stress that long-term social impacts need to be tracked over a 10-year period, that projects took longer than anticipated to finalise but benefited from flexibility, and that clearly defined selection criteria and community co-design are needed before committing regeneration funding.