COVID-19 lockdowns might have changed how many of us live our lives, but the Beddington Community Benefit
Fund has continued to support charities across Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton, donating £92,537.75 to 15
projects since March 2020. This brings the total funding to £185,889 since 2016.

The Beddington Energy Recovery Facility in Sutton supports the households of the four London boroughs of
Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton to transform non-recyclable waste into enough energy to power c. 57,000
homes and divert this material away from landfill.

Associated with the ERF is a £1m community benefit fund for projects in the four boroughs to access grants to help their projects flourish over coming decades. Projects within a 2km radius of the Beddington ERF can apply for up to £30,000 and projects within the four boroughs are eligible for up to £5,000.
Some of these projects have been located just on the fringes of the site, including a £30,000 donation to
Beddington infant school for installation of a solar dome to allow for learning to continue outside the classroom. The
Croydon Foodbank was also successful in an application for just over £10,000 to buy a new van to help expand the
reach of their deliveries and support for communities.
Samuel Ackah co-ordinator for the Croydon Foodbank said of their funding: “We are over the moon with the
support we have received from the Beddington community fund. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to think
differently about how we operate, and the funding has enabled us to buy a van for us to now offer direct pick up and
drop off to limit the contact donators and our customers need to have with our team. The van has transformed our
work and we are now able to our services much wider across the London Borough of Croydon.”
The Sutton Community Farm was successful with a second application to the fund, this time for £5,000 to
contribute towards a larger project to build a much bigger barn at the Farm following a period of sustained growth
with the project. Each month the Sutton Community Farm provides vegetable boxes for 600 members of the local
community along with produce for some of London’s most notable restaurants.
Sutton Nightwatch, a homeless charity set up to provide support and raise awareness of homeless people in Sutton
was successful in receiving more than £8,000 to provide security and fire safety enhancements to its centre in
Wallington.

Applications for the Beddington Community Benefit Fund remain open and the panel would welcome expressions
of interest to be sent to the fund administrator at: [email protected]