Almost one year on from the riots, Southwark’s Labour council is launching a £1m Community Restoration Fund which is using innovation and investment to create positive opportunities for young people and local businesses in those areas that were worst affected.

The whole of our borough felt the shock of the disturbances last August, Walworth and Peckham in particular saw widespread looting and disorder with many businesses destroyed and livelihoods ruined.

For small- and medium-sized businesses in Southwark, the disruption could not have come at a worse time. Politicians from different parties will disagree about the causes of our economic situation but what cannot be disputed are the facts. The UK is back in recession, the government’s lack of a coherent growth strategy means banks are still not lending, and businesses are struggling.

Coupled with this is the rise of large out-of-town shopping centres and internet shopping: a perfect storm which led the government’s own Portas review to conclude that a third of our high streets are either degenerating or failing.

High street renewal is essential, not just for jobs and prosperity, but because high streets represent the beating heart of our communities.

The riots made an existing problem more difficult, but they also presented a challenge for Labour councils everywhere. How in the longer term could we capture the community spirit and resilience that was the reaction to the violence and criminality and use it to build something positive?

In Southwark we acted fast in the immediate aftermath, making £100,000 available to small businesses that had been damaged to ensure they did not go under. This proved highly successful, and contrasted with the slow reactions of the mayor and government.

However, we also wanted to foster the community spirit from last August in order to build more resilient communities. That was the impetus behind our Community Restoration Fund, and this week we launched the first element that will see £440,000 go towards innovative projects supporting our businesses and high streets.

In two of the areas worst hit by rioting and looting – Walworth and Peckham – we are establishing business networks to bring businesses together to develop the quality of the shopping offer and promote these areas to potential shoppers while also delivering improvements to Walworth’s iconic East Street Market.

Alongside these business networks we are looking to engage young people and get them involved in business start-ups. £84,000 is going towards supporting 80-100 young people to set up and run a pop-up shop in Walworth and £30,000 will go towards creating a ‘Talking Shop’, using local youth radio station Reprezent FM to promote businesses and the town centre in Peckham.

However, we are also keen to support smaller shopping areas that have been left to ossify over the years. Tower Bridge Road, The Blue in Bermondsey and Albion Street in Rotherhithe are three examples of places with a fantastic history of economic and commercial activity. They are popular with local people and have the right ingredients for success but just need a small boost.

In Bermondsey we are establishing a Business Improvement District to promote the area as an attractive place to shop and do business. We have committed £40,000 to establish a Business Association on Tower Bridge Road to enable businesses to work together and promote the area through advertising and events. Work is also being done to promote and advertise the parade of shops on Albion Street in Rotherhithe.

In the context of the £90m cut Southwark council has had from the Tory-Lib Dem government, these small pots of money may not seem like a lot. But it is exactly this kind of targeted investment which can encourage businesses to work together, capitalise on local knowledge and help restore pride in a local community.

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Claire Hickson is cabinet member for communities and economic development on Southwark council. She tweets @chaucerclaire

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Photo: Tom Godber