Agenda item

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 3 2013/14.

In Quarter 3 2013/14, the Town Centre Management and Business Support Service had worked to deliver a number of events in town centres including several Christmas celebration events and Christmas markets. 

8.2% of units were currently vacant in Bromley town centre (excluding intu Bromley shopping centre), which was lower than the national average of approximately 14%.  Orpington and Penge town centres currently had vacancy rates of 12% and 8.5% respectively, and Beckenham town centre had a vacancy rate of just 2.4%.  Work was ongoing to respond to applications from local areas for funding from the Local Parades Improvement Initiative Fund and, if all existing applications for projects were approved and delivered to budget, the fund was expected to be fully committed by the end of the 2013/14 financial year.

The Local Authority continued to maintain direct contact with the Orpington 1^st BID Company through the attendance of non-voting members, Councillor William Huntington-Thresher and Martin Pinnell.  Following a feasibility study undertaken around additional BIDs (Business Improvement Districts) being established in other town centres across the Borough, a report would be considered by the Council’s Executive on 15^th January 2014 about whether to focus resources on a potential Bromley town centre BID (Business Improvement District).

The Bromley Town Business Growth Club continued to be delivered in partnership with ActionCOACH Business Coaching and was supported by the Outer London Fund.  The programme would end in January 2014 and Officers had been working with ActionCOACH to design a feedback survey to identify the impact of the programme on participating businesses.  Officers had also been working with other organisations to organise and host joint support events including a Start Up Loans evening in November 2013, co-hosted with Prospects Business Services, and a networking event in December 2013, co-hosted with Metrobank and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.

Future activities for the Town Centre Management and Business Support Service included presentation of the options and issues for the development of a Bromley town centre BID to the Council’s Executive.  Work would also be undertaken to engage more with local businesses and town centre stakeholders, including continuing to support the Orpington 1^st BID Company and Beckenham Town Team, as well as working to establish the Bromley Stakeholder Group with a focus on a possible Bromley town centre BID.  An events and activities programme for the managed town centres during 2014/15 would also be developed.  A report on options and recommendations for a Christmas lights policy and procurement of Christmas lights services would be presented to Councillors in April 2014. 

Other activities would include work to promote the remaining Bromley Business GrowthCLUB programme events and evaluate the effectiveness of the programme as part of the Outer London Fund evaluation, as well as consider whether there was potential to extend the programme.

RESOLVED that:

1)  Recent work around Town Centre Management and Business Support in the 3^rd Quarter of 2013/14 be noted; and

2)  The plans for Town Centre Management and Business Support activity for the 4^th Quarter of 2013/14 be noted.