Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced a new £15.6 million fund to improve safety in parks, streets and other public spaces across the capital, with projects shaped by the experiences of women and girls.
The funding will support practical improvements such as better lighting, clearer sightlines and fewer hidden corners, with the aim of making public spaces feel safer and more welcoming. Local authorities will be able to apply for a share of the money as part of a wider City Hall package of more than £37 million to tackle violence against women and girls.
Announcing the initiative on X, Khan said:
“Small changes can make a big difference to how safe a place feels.”
He added:
“Better lighting. Clearer sightlines. Fewer hidden corners.”
The Mayor said the new fund would help communities across London make targeted improvements based on the concerns of people who use those spaces every day.
Khan said:
“Through a new £15.6m fund, I’m helping make parks, streets and public spaces safer across London, informed by women and girls who use them every day.”
The initiative forms part of City Hall’s wider work to tackle violence against women and girls and improve confidence in public spaces. Khan said he wanted to make every woman and girl in London safer — and feel safer — in the city, with women and girls helping to audit parks and public spaces and shape design changes.
The focus on design reflects growing recognition that the physical environment can play an important role in how safe people feel, particularly at night or in areas with poor visibility.
Measures such as stronger lighting, improved pathways, better-maintained planting and clearer lines of sight can help reduce isolated areas and make public spaces easier to navigate.
For Khan, the programme is about listening directly to women and girls and ensuring their experiences shape decisions about how London’s neighbourhoods are designed and improved.
The £15.6 million investment will now be used to support projects across the capital, with local communities expected to help identify the places and improvements that matter most.
The Mayor said the goal was simple: to make London’s streets, parks and public spaces safer, more accessible and more welcoming for everyone.
