We’ve set up a new £75 million fund to improve our borough for current residents and generations to come. The Merton Legacy Fund will be split into four priority areas:
- Breathing new life into our town centres.
- Building the first council homes in a generation.
- New sporting infrastructure to make it easier for us all to stay active.
- A pot of £15 million for infrastructure projects which residents will help us choose
Where does the money come from?
In May 2023, we sold a company that we had previously set up called CHAS. Since we created it in 1997, CHAS has become the leading national provider of risk prevention, compliance and supply chain management services across the public sector, construction, education and transport industries. It represents more than 30,000 contractors, with more than 2,500 clients to date. Last year, we decided the time was right to sell it to new owners, raising a one-off sum of £186 million.
Of this money, £50 million was used to clear historic debts and around £60 million went into secure investments, giving us a sound footing for the future.
A further £75 million has been earmarked for the Merton Legacy Fund. This is money that the Council can only spend once – and so we can’t spend it on day-to-day services like street cleaning or park maintenance.
How did we decide the four priority areas?
At the end of 2023, we carried out a budget engagement exercise with residents, which included questions around what to do with the money received from the sale of CHAS. Hundreds of people responded, and the main themes that arose were around affordable housing, making town centres more vibrant and accessible, and providing accessible and affordable sporting facilities.
Whilst the first three priorities were driven by this feedback from the public, we know that there will be many good ideas out there which may not fit into these three categories. That’s why we want to open the final £15 million to bids for legacy projects which will be informed by residents.
Have your say
Thank you to everyone who responded to our survey in autumn 2024. We received more than 1000 ideas for projects that could be supported by the Legacy Fund and make a difference in our local communities. We are now going through all the ideas we received to consider what would be viable to deliver under this fund and can be developed into firm, costed proposals. Once we have a short list of potential projects we will ask for your views on these plans.