Agenda and minutes

Councillor Peter Morgan was confirmed as the Chairman of the Bromley Economic Partnership.  Adrian Hollands, South East London Chamber of Commerce was confirmed as the Vice-Chairman.

Apologies had been received from Bek Bekir – National Apprenticeships Service, Alena Harvey – South London Business, Adrian Hollands – South East London Chamber of Commerce, Robert Innes – Skills Funding Agency, Michael Lewis – Michael Rogers LLP, Mary Manuel – LBB Head of Planning Strategy and Peter Pledger, South London Business.

The minutes of the meeting were agreed.

There were no matters arising

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 19^th April 2012 be agreed.

Members of the Partnership gave an update around progress across the main themes of the Partnership.

The Head of Town Centre Renewal gave an update around Town Centre Development across the Borough.

Progress was continuing across the sites that made up the Bromley Town Centre Area Action Plan.  The Council had received the judgement of the High Court with regard to the challenge from Linden Homes/Network Rail in relation to the number of residential units that could be accommodated on Site A: Bromley North, and the Council was now required to prepare, publish, consult upon and promote a new policy for the site.  It was proposed that this be included within the forthcoming Local Plan, with the next round of consultation due to take place from September 2012.  The final plan would be submitted for Independent Examination in Spring 2013. 

Work was being undertaken to investigate further designs and costs associated with creating a temporary parking area at Site B: Tweedy Road which would provide an additional 100 spaces during the refurbishment of The Hill and the redevelopment of Westmoreland Multi-Storey Car Parks.  A Variable Message System would be introduced to Bromley from September 2012 to improve traffic management across the town centre, and other measures would be used to further mitigate the impact of car park closures.

The Council was moving towards the procurement of a development partner in relation to Churchill Place (Site G), and interested parties were being asked to submit a completed Expression of Interest Pre-Qualification Questionnaire by 7^th September 2012, with the aim of confirming the preferred developer by April 2013.  The Churchill Place Development Brochure would be made available via the Bromley Council website shortly.

The planning application for the redevelopment of Site K: Westmoreland Road Car Park had been approved by Development Control Committee on 6^th March 2012.  Cathedral Group was considering some changes to the proposed basement car parking provision, although the number of spaces would be unchanged.  It was planned that development would start on site in October 2012.

With regard to Site M: Queen’s Gardens, a revised planning application for the development of the terrace had been refused by Development Control Committee on 28^th June 2012. 

In terms of development across the Borough, an outline design had been completed for Bromley North Village, and the designs were now going through the detailed design phase which was expected to be completed in July 2012, after which the business case and designs would be provided to Transport for London.  A decision regarding funding was expected from Transport for London in Autumn 2012 and, assuming no changes were required, implementation could start in January 2013.  The scheme of improvements to the public realm had secured £2m funding from the Outer London Fund Round 2 and would now be expanded through other parts of the town centre when the scheme was implemented in January 2013. 

Officers were working with a new consortium that was seeking to implement a comprehensive improvement programme in the Walnuts Shopping Centre, Orpington to include retail and office space as well as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4a

The Head of Town Centre Management and Business Support gave an update on progress across the main Partnership themes of Town Centre Management and Business Support in Quarter 1 2012/13.

In Quarter 1 2012/13, the main priorities of the Town Centre Management and Business Support Service included working in partnership with Orpington businesses towards the development of the proposed Business Improvement District (BID), the planning and delivery of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee events across the Borough, and assisting businesses in Bromley North Village and Chislehurst to establish Town Teams.  A bid had also been developed for Bromley North Village to the Government’s Portas Pilots scheme, which could secure up to £100k of funding for the area.  Work was ongoing to finalise the delivery of Outer London Fund Round 1 projects as well as negotiating final grant agreement with the Greater London Authority for Outer London Fund Round 2 projects. 

Future activities for the Town Centre Management and Business Support Service included working with local businesses to finalise the Orpington BID proposal.  A number of summer events were planned, including the Big Dance event, the Bromley Town Centre Festival and Olympic Torch Relay events.  Delivery of the Outer London Fund Round 1 and 2 projects would continue, and an Office sector workshop would also be delivered in partnership with local and central London property agents in October 2012.

In response to a question from the Chairman, Howard Oldstein confirmed that whilst events did not necessarily increase trade for retailers, such as those in The Glades Shopping Centre, they did encourage repeat visits to town centres.  A recent increase in parking charges in Bromley Town Centre did not appear to have deterred shoppers and the cost of parking in Bromley continued to be lower than other major retail centres in the region.

RESOLVED that:

1)  Recent work around Town Centre Management and Business Support in the 1^st Quarter of 2012/13 be noted; and

2)  The plans for Town Centre Management and Business Support activity for the 2^nd Quarter of 2012/13 be noted.

The Head of Town Centre Renewal confirmed that work was ongoing to deliver Round 1 and 2 projects funded by successful bids to the Outer London Fund. 

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

The Director of Renewal & Recreation provided an update on the development of planning policy in the Borough on behalf of the Head of Planning Strategy.  The National Planning Policy Framework had been published on 27^th March 2012, and further guidance was awaited on the potential to move to developing a Local Plan rather than a Core Strategy. 

Key areas of interest to the members of the Partnership included provision of employment land, business areas and the support of town centres across the Borough, as well as broader quality of life issues which would affect businesses.  As options were developed around the future use of business and employment land, key stakeholders would be consulted and Members of the Economic Partnership were asked to contribute to this discussion.

Following the identification of London Biggin Hill Airport as a Strategic Outer London Development Centre in the London Plan, it was noted that there was potential to access significant Local Economic Partnership funding to develop the West Camp site which would bring economic growth and a wide range of employment opportunities to the area.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

Louisa Allen, Community Development Manager outlined the Bromley Youth Employment Project which had been developed by Bromley Council following a decision by the Executive to allocate £500k to support sustainable employment opportunities for young people who were unemployed.  It was proposed that the project would run for a three year period and be focused on creating sustainable jobs for young people aged between 18-24 years who were resident in the Borough.  The project would provide a minimum of 52 places for young people, working with Jobcentre Plus to provide internship and apprenticeship opportunities. 

Mandi Grice of Jobcentre Plus confirmed that the scheme also supported a drive for youth employment by Jobcentre Plus and noted the possibility of accessing Flexible Grant Funding for the project.  Colin Maclean highlighted the potential for the voluntary community sector to work within the project’s partnership framework, providing young people with access to a range of opportunities in the voluntary and community sector.

It was noted that Louisa Allen would be leaving Bromley Council shortly to take up a new opportunity.  The Chairman thanked her on behalf of the Partnership for all her hard work and wished her well in her new role.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

Members of the Partnership had undertaken a range of activities since the last meeting.

Mandi Grice, Jobcentre Plus, provided an update on unemployment and employment trends in the Borough as at May 2012, and noted there had been a decrease of 2.6% in the number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance from the previous month, which represented 160 fewer claimants.  With regard to jobseekers, 22.5% were aged between 18-24 years, however 57.5% were aged 25-49 years and 19.5% were aged 50+ years and it was noted that work to target older jobseekers was underway.

Jobcentre Plus was currently working to deliver a new national programme to support young people aged 16-24 years into employment, as well as with Bromley Council on the Bromley Youth Employment Project.  Work was also being undertaken with Bromley College of Further and Higher Education and Bromley Adult Education College to support the skills agenda and skills conditionality, where jobseekers were supported to identify and build on their transferable skills.  Additional funding had been made available to target young people in Crystal Palace and Mottingham and Chislehurst North wards which were traditionally areas of high unemployment for young people, and Jobcentre Plus would be working with partners to offer focused support and training in these areas. 

Neville Cavendish, Jobcentre Plus confirmed that there would be an increased emphasis on outreach activities and co-location of services as part of the move to universal credit. Internet enabled devices would also be introduced to Jobcentre Plus offices shortly to support customers to access information regarding job vacancies.

Katy Woolcott provided an update on developments at London Biggin Hill Airport following its identification as a Strategic Outer London Development Centre in the London Plan, and as part of the LoCATE (London Centre for Aviation Technology and Enterprise) project which brought together a cluster of modern aviation-related businesses at and around London Biggin Hill Airport to support continued economic development in the area.

The LoCATE Team had recently completed both a property report and an analysis of the economic value of the airport to the local economic community.  This had identified the airport’s key role in continuing to meet the need for direct air services to London into the future.  The airport currently had a turnover of £225m per annum, £15m of which was spent within the Borough, and there were 980 jobs in and around the airport and industrial estate.  Over the next five years, the airport aimed to increase the number of businesses on the airport and industrial estate from 62 to 130, which could realise an additional 1000 jobs. 

The airport was also working with the owner of the West Camp site to realise development opportunities on the site, adding significant value to the customer offer.  The green belt designation of the West Camp site was highlighted as a potential barrier to future development, as was the need to ensure the right sites were allocated for future development in the Local Development Framework.  A direct link to the M25 would also have a significant impact on the future growth of the airport and industrial estate.

The Head of Town Centre Management and Business Support gave an update on the commercial property market in the Borough.  Work had commenced with local property agents to gather information on the office stock in Bromley Town Centre.  This would allow further analysis of the future supply and demand for office floor space across the Borough with a view to promoting the benefits for businesses to locate in the Borough.  A workshop would be held in October 2012 to understand the office/employment market in Bromley and consider how it might be developed and promoted into the future.

Paula Morrison, Assistant Director: Public Health, introduced a report outlining issues experienced by people with disabilities or sensory impairments in accessing businesses.  It was noted that of every 20 customers, 6 either had or were close to someone who had some form of disability or sensory impairment.  The benefits to businesses in ensuring all customers were accommodated were highlighted, as was the need to comply with the legal requirements for access in the Equality Act 2010.  It would also be beneficial for businesses to consider what measures might be introduced to support the employment of people with disabilities or sensory impairments.

The DisabledGo website provided access information about a wide range of businesses and could help direct customers to businesses where accessibility was prioritised.  A resource pack was available from Public Health to support businesses to be accessible for all their customers, and this information would be included in a future edition of the Bromley Business E-Bulletin and disseminated to local business groups for the benefit of businesses across the Borough.

Howard Oldstein confirmed that the celebrations to mark the 21^st anniversary of The Glades Shopping Centre continued.  A number of new retailers would be moving into The Glades Shopping Centre shortly.

Colin Maclean, Community Links Bromley, noted that the Mayor would be hosting a reception on 17^th October 2012 on behalf of the Voluntary Sector Business Group (Bromley Community Fund).

Vaughan Leyshon announced that Bromley College of Further and Higher Education had secured funding to develop facilities used by students with learning disabilities.  During the academic year, 500 new apprentices had been supported by the College and of those who did not already have a job, 50 had been matched with a job.  Capital B, the new employer services team at Bromley College, had been launched and offered a wide range of training and business advice services.

Carol Arnfield was pleased to report that Bromley Adult Education College had opened a work club at the Kentwood Centre in partnership with Jobcentre Plus to support people looking for work in the north of the Borough.

RESOLVED that the updates be noted.

The Chairman thanked Katy Woolcott, Estate Manager on behalf of the Partnership for hosting the meeting at London Biggin Hill Airport, and for providing a tour of the airport to members of the Partnership in advance of the meeting.

4.00pm, Tuesday 16^th October 2012

4.00pm, Tuesday 8^th January 2013

4.00pm, Tuesday 9^th April 2013

4.00pm, Tuesday 16^th October 2012

4.00pm, Tuesday 8^th January 2013

4.00pm, Tuesday 9^th April 2013