Cash-strapped London council starts crowdfunding drive to pay for green upgrades

Lindley Estate in Peckham. Southwark has been criticised for tearing out children’s playgrounds to make room for new homes, which were left boarded up when the council ran out of money. Photograph: Jill Mead/The Guardian

Deep cuts to government funding have led a council in south London to ask its residents to invest their own money, for a financial return, to build cycle hangars, LED street lighting and green upgrades at schools and leisure centres.

Amid a financial crisis hitting town halls across England, councillors in Southwark have resorted to a crowdfunding scheme to raise £6m over the next six years to help fund climate-friendly projects.