St Richard's Church in Ham would get £75,000 for roof repairs and The Hive youth centre £48,600 from developer levy money. Councillors decide on 19 November.

St Richard’s Church in Ham is in line for £75,000 towards urgent roof repairs. The new Hive youth and community centre in Ham would get up to £48,600 for its fit-out.

Both grants are recommended in a report to Richmond Council’s Finance, Policy and Resources Committee, which meets on Thursday 19 November. Together they come to £123,600.

The money comes from the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy. That is the share of the levy developers pay that must be spent in the area where building happens, on priorities agreed with residents.

St Richard’s Church: £75,000

St Richard’s is a Grade II listed church. It was added to the Heritage at Risk Register in November 2025, according to the grant recommendations.

The grant would pay for work on:

  • the deteriorating roof
  • water getting into the building
  • structural defects

Before the roof problems, community groups, St Richard’s Primary School and local residents all used the building. Officers say the repairs would bring it back into community use, with a programme of activities planned.

They call the works “urgently needed” to safeguard an at-risk heritage building. The award is conditional on the church securing the rest of the money it needs.

The Hive: up to £48,600

The Hive is the youth and community centre being built by Achieving for Children (AfC) as part of the Ham Close regeneration. It will also work as a family hub. The bid lists:

  • events equipment
  • a sensory room
  • a community mural
  • terrace improvements
  • sports, kitchen and music studio equipment

The money would be paid in stages. The first £17,000 is for the sensory room, so it can be fitted alongside the rest of the room works. The remaining £31,600 would be decided once AfC has been in the building for six months and users have had their say.

Officers say the project is well placed to meet the extra demand from new development, and is “the main youth provision in the area”.

How the money was shared

Ham and Petersham get a bigger share of the levy than the rest of the borough, because they adopted a Neighbourhood Plan: 25% rather than 15%. The area had £169,378 uncommitted at the end of June 2026, the report says.

Nine groups applied in this Ham and Petersham round. Three were invited to make a full bid, and two are recommended. Two further bids, from the east and west of the borough, were also assessed and are not recommended for funding. Officers have suggested the unsuccessful groups get fundraising advice from Richmond CVS.

£60,000 for community energy projects

The same report asks councillors to put £60,000 of levy money into a new Richmond Accelerator Fund for Community Energy and Building Decarbonisation. It would add £30,000 to each of the fund’s first two rounds.

The fund launches in March 2027, with £55,000 available in the first round and £55,000 more in March 2028. It is meant to help residents and community groups get early-stage renewable energy projects off the ground.

The council said on Monday that a new community energy group for Richmond is taking shape. At least 30 people have shown an interest, and they held a first meeting at Patch in Twickenham. The charity Repowering London has been commissioned to help it become a Community Benefit Society.

What it means for you

If you live in Ham, two local buildings stand to gain: a listed church back in community use and a better-equipped youth centre. If you belong to a community group with an energy idea, such as solar panels on a church or school, the accelerator fund opens in March 2027.

Committee papers and a webcast link are on the meeting page.

Sources