Issue - meetings

Members considered the following planning application report:-

The following oral representations in support of the application were received from Mr Marc Myers, General Manager, Intu Bromley:-

·  The proposal to introduce a boutique cinema and casual dining cluster to the Centre was part of a £24m investment that encompassed an internal refresh which was currently under way and the proposals for a restaurant terrace by Queens Gardens.  The cinema and restaurant proposal would create 60 permanent and 130 temporary jobs in the town.

·  Consultations had shown that both the shoppers and retailers who Intu were trying to attract to the Centre, agreed that Intu Bromley and the town centre, were in need of more casual dining and leisure facilities in order to revive the evening economy and restore Bromley to its place in the market as a metropolitan town centre.  Intu wanted to provide a safe and seamless transition from traditional daytime commercial activities to evening activities.

·  The Council’s 2012 Retail and Leisure Report demonstrated a substantial level of unmet demand within the town.  Despite the establishment of the restaurant terrace by Queens Gardens, Bromley would still rate well below the national average for retail and leisure for a town of its size.

·  Although Bromley residents wanted to support their town, they were increasingly driven to spend their money and leisure time elsewhere, ie. Bluewater, Greenwich and the West End.  With the impending development of Westfield in Croydon, immediate action would be needed to ensure that Bromley did not lose out.  Bromley deserved this development and needed it to continue to compete.  The proposed 220 seater cinema would go some small way to address the gap which would still exist even after the completion of developments at Bromley South and Orpington.

·  It was necessary to increase dwell time in the town and in order to do this, trading hours would need to be extended not just for restaurants and leisure but for retailers who would want to capitalise on the increased footfall delivered through the potential new leisure development; this would ‘smooth the peaks’ in trading because once shoppers were aware that the Centre remained open for longer, they would be more inclined to make their journeys outside peak times.

·  Provision of adequate parking was fundamental to the success of Intu Centres.  Intu would not propose a scheme which resulted in a detrimental impact on the attractiveness  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5