Agenda and draft minutes

The Chairman introduced Mr Stephen Wood as the new Clerk to the BEP and asked that partners go round the table and introduce themselves. 

Apologies for absence were received from Sam Parrett – London South East Colleges and Kelly Stead – Mytime Active, Liz Lake and Debra Weekes attended as their respective substitutes. Apologies were received from Matt Powder from the Churchill Theatre, and Lorna Strawson attended as substitute.

Apologies for absence were also received from Mark Haynes – The Glades, Caroline Tatchell – Splash Damage and Bruce Walker – Lansdown Asset Management.

The Chairman explained that on this occasion the meeting would be in two parts. The first part would be the standard BEP meeting; the second part would be a separate meeting to discuss the Growth Plan. 

It was noted that there was just one nominee for the post of Vice Chairman and that was Mr Lee Thomas.

RESOLVED that Lee Thomas be appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Bromley Economic Partnership for the 2024/25 municipal year.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, members of the public may submit one question each on matters relating to the work of the Committee. Questions must have been received in writing 10 working days before the date of the meeting – by 5pm on Tuesday 28^th May 2024.

Questions seeking clarification of the details of a report on the agenda may be accepted within two working days of the normal publication date of the agenda – by 5pm on Wednesday 5^th June 2024.

No questions had been received.

The Chairman noted that there were no matters outstanding.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 26^th March 2024 be agreed.

o Review and updates

The Terms of Reference had been incorporated into the agenda pack for information and review. There had been no significant changes to the terms.

RESOLVED that the terms of reference be agreed.    

This item was introduced by Daniel Murray (LBB Head of Economic Development).

He explained that there would be updates in 4 areas as follows:

1.  Inward Investment Workshop

2.  Night Strategy

3.  Strategic Infrastructure Project

4.  People and Place workstreams in the UK Shared Prosperity Fund Programme

The meeting of the inward investment workshop was well attended and took place on the 7th of May. Appreciation was expressed to the Old Town Hall who hosted the event. The workshop discussed various aspects of inward investment such as branding, messaging and propositions. During the workshop, discussions took place around three key areas which were:

·  Ambitions

·  Assets

·  Audience

The next inward investment workshop would take place on 8^th July. It was envisaged that on this occasion the focus would be on operational matters. Mr Murray expressed his thanks to those who had attended the event and also to those who had contributed in various ways.

Lorraine McQuillan (LBB Place Shaping & Local Economy Manager) explained that the next stage in developing the night time economy strategy was to better understand what was going on in town centres at night. Resultantly, an evidence based report was drafted which outlined what was currently happening in the borough in the night time, where there were any perceived gaps in activities, and also provided recommendations for interventions. The evidence based report included a night audit and Ms McQuillan expressed her thanks to the Bid Managers who had accompanied her in the night time, when the audits were being completed. The next stage would be to hold consultations and to draft surveys, which would be sent to residents, businesses, and night workers in July. The idea was to understand what people would like to see with respect to the night-time economy. The survey results would be combined with the evidence based report for stakeholders to work on and develop the full night-time economy strategy; it was hoped that the strategy would be developed towards the end of 2024 and signed off early in 2025.

An update was provided on the SIF (Strategic Investment Fund). The Partnership heard that a project was being worked on to connect 21 Council assets with full fibre broadband. A ‘spine’ network would need to be laid to facilitate a connection to all the sites. There were planning considerations to finalise before the work could commence. Planning was made more complicated because the location of the Central Library was changing. Work was also required around the co-ordination of site surveys. A key challenge was the finalisation of site specific risk and method statements—engagement was required with all relevant parties for these to be signed off. It was anticipated that the work would be completed in November 2024.

An update was also provided concerning the People and Skills Programme. The Partnership was informed that the ‘Good Work Bromley Exchange’ had been set up, and was based at South East London Colleges on the Orpington campus. This was the first employment and skills centre in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

o Key updates from Partners

It was noted that the LBB Adult Education Service was waiting for an Ofsted Inspection.

It was reported that the banking sector remained busy and there was a constant anticipation of a reduction in interest rates. Handelsbanken Bank was active in endeavouring to bring business into Bromley, but it was felt that this process needed to be made easier. Current planning regulations were sometimes restrictive.

Russell Clarke (Sundridge Investments) stated that the residential property market was slow and seemed to be waiting for improvements in the economic outlook. Similarly, in the commercial property sector, people seemed to be ‘sitting on their hands’, although it was the case that most offices were being let. It was reported that the Glades had some empty units as did Blue Water and that certain types of retail businesses were struggling.

Mike Lewis (Michael Rogers LLP), stated that the office market was now more active. The two remaining large floors in the Threadneedle Building were now under offer and matters with respect to Northside House were progressing. The Bank of America building was being re-furbished. 

Lee Thomas (Fairlight Group) informed partners that a Section 106 agreement had been obtained with respect to 43,000 square feet of office space in Elmfield Road. He had also let out 3,300 square feet of good quality self-contained office space. He said there appeared to be a return of commercial activity to the market. In his view, the quality of the stock in Bromley was two cycles behind. He commented on a recent visit that he had made to the London Borough of Croydon, and commented that Croydon was doing things that Bromley should be doing, such as trying to encourage large scale inward investment. Bromley needed to encourage more footfall and more money into the borough and needed to provide buildings that were of suitable quality.

Zoe Carr (Penge Bid) updated partners concerning Oakfield Road in Penge and the Oakfield Road Estate. She informed partners that many of the properties there were owned by Legal & General and it appeared that some redevelopment work was planned, not only for residential properties but also possibly for office space. A dementia event had been held on the 17th of May at which 10 organisations attended. It was hoped that in the future, similar events could be held in Bromley and Orpington. Much positive feedback had been received concerning this event. Partners were informed that the Penge Festival would take place in September.

Frances Forrest (Your Bromley) drew attention to the primary school planters in Market Square and said that Goldsmith’s were providing mentoring to small businesses. The ‘Make Music Day’ was planned for 21^st June. There was also an update regarding the London Festival of Architecture and the return of ‘Midsummer Movies’ between 15^th and 17^th August. 

Chris Travers (Orpington 1^st Bid) stated that building occupancy in Orpington was strong, although there had been a fall in footfall recently due to some infrastructure works that had been taking  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

o Request for future agenda items

No other business was discussed.

4.00pm, Tuesday 15^th October 2024

4.00pm, Tuesday 14^th January 2025

4.00pm, Tuesday 1^st April 2025

4.00pm, Tuesday 15^th October 2024

4.00pm, Tuesday 14^th January 2025

4.00pm, Tuesday 1^st April 2025