London landlord says it will prioritise groups helping vulnerable people and food banks
Developing housing association L&Q has pledged £650,000 to support community groups through the coronavirus pandemic.
The London-based landlord, which was one of the first organisations to announce it was shutting down development after lockdown was announced, said the £650,000 will be used to find projects that focus on the over-70s, vulnerable people, food banks, social welfare, or health and wellbeing.
The money will be channelled through L&Q’s charitable giving arm, the L&Q Foundation, with grants of up to £10,000 available through its place makers fund.
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Matt Corbett, director of the L&Q Foundation, said: “The current coronavirus crisis is having a profound impact everywhere, including in the communities in which we are invested. To help support and protect our residents, we have been working hard to repurpose our Place Makers Fund to invest in initiatives that are providing what is needed most at this time.
The announcement comes alongside a similar pledge by housebuilder Countryside, which yesterday said it had put £1m into a fund to support local community charities in the areas in which it works.
Last week housebuilder Barratt said it was donating 400 defibrillators from its closed construction sites to St John’s Ambulance and St Andrew’s first aid groups, at a cost of £300,000.
L&Q is the biggest housing association developer, with a long-term ambition to build 100,000 homes in the next decade. Earlier this year, group developer director Fiona Fletcher-Smith said the firm could be a bigger builder than Barratt, despite the organisation last year announcing a pause on development in response to the weak London market and the cost of post-Grenfell repairs to tower blocks.
The 110,000-home landlord has committed £250m to implementing the recommendations from Dame Judith Hackitt’s review of building safety.
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