The Green Man. Pic: Phoenix Community Housing

A community-run housing association has invited residents and organisations in south Lewisham to propose ways in which to spend a £100,000 regeneration kitty.

The scheme, run by Phoenix Community Housing, London’s first resident-owned social landlord, aims to spark up creativity and rejuvenation in the area.

The ‘Community Chest’, encourages groups and organisations to come up with projects that will make a difference in the lives of residents of Phoenix’s 6,300 homes in the Downham, Bellingham and Whitefoot wards of south Lewisham.

The money comes from a five-year £500,000 funding programme launched in 2013. The first wave of Community Chest funding last year attracted more than 20 bids for grants. The eight successful applications in the public vote included a new allotment clubhouse, holiday schemes for young people and support sessions for carers.

Chief executive of Phoenix Community Housing, Jim Ripley, said: “We received a fantastic response to the first round of our Community Chest, with lots of bids and more than 400 people at our first voting event. We hope the second round will be even more successful and help us in our efforts to create a better future for the south Lewisham area.”

Phoenix Community Housing describes itself as a “community gateway housing association”, meaning that residents can become shareholding members and play a central role in making decisions that will affect them.

Ripley continued: “This scheme is all about handing over control to the experts – the residents who live in our properties and the organisations that work in our community. They’re the ones who know the kind of projects that will have the biggest impact in their neighbourhood and to people’s lives.”

The deadline for applications is April 23. To find out more email cchest@phoenixch.org.uk, call 0800 0285700 or 0844 2642844 and ask for the Community Links Project Team, or visit phoenixch.org.uk.