Agenda item

GENERAL NEWS ROUND

Minutes:

Sam Parrett, Bromley College of Further and Higher Education was pleased to announce that the new hospitality training centre at the College’s Orpington campus would open in February 2015, and that bookings for the Chef’s Table Training Restaurant could be made through the Bromley College website.  A business and conference centre was now available for use at the College’s Orpington campus, and a number of business club and business networking events would be held during Spring 2015 to promote the new facilities. 

 

Suzanne Sharp, NewsQuest, advised members of the Partnership that 2015 was the 50th anniversary year for the News Shopper.  A special celebratory publication would be published on a quarterly basis throughout the year.  It was hoped that one of these publications would be based around business in Bromley, and members of the Partnership were requested to submit their stories.

 

Adam Pope, Phoenix Community Housing, confirmed that Phoenix Community Housing had established a ‘Building Lives’ academy through one of its community centres and was now recruiting the first cohort of young people into its traineeship programme.  Phoenix Community Housing had successfully applied for a Heritage Lottery Enterprise Fund grant of £3.8m which would be used to restore a 1920’s public house in Bellingham to provide a cinema, brewery, live music and café offer to the local community. 

 

Mark Henderson, MSE UK, noted that the strength of the pound was impacting companies with a high level of exports, but that his company was continuing to develop in new markets including Cuba and Brazil.  He was pleased to announce that MSE UK had won the ‘Best Small Business’ award in the 2014 Bromley Business Awards.

 

Dave Freeborn, George Proctor & Partners, confirmed that there continued to be a high level of interest in land development in Bromley.  The Local Authority would be holding a planning forum shortly to support developers in understanding the planning application process.

 

Peter Scott-Wilds, FLR Spectron/South East London Chamber of Commerce advised members of the Partnership that the Chamber of Commerce would be delivering more networking opportunities for businesses during 2015.  A Construction Forum had recently been established and it was hoped that the Leaders of the London Boroughs of Bromley, Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham would meet with the Chamber of Commerce on a six monthly basis to consider how businesses could work together more effectively across the South East London region.

 

Michelle Williams, FLR Spectron, was pleased to announce that FLR Spectron had won the ‘Best Medium Business’ award in the 2014 Bromley Business Awards, had been highly commended in the ‘Commitment to the Community’ category and had been commended in the ‘Best Employer and Staff Development’ category.

 

Donna Still, Federation of Small Businesses confirmed that work continued to be undertaken to ensure that small businesses were able to benefit from opportunities in Local Authority procurement.  Some concerns had been raised by proposed changes to parking fees across the Borough and the impact this may have on businesses.

 

Sharon Baldwin, Manager, Orpington 1st BID Company was pleased to announce that a business show would be held on 19th February 2015 as part of ‘Love Orpington’ week, and that all members of the Partnership were invited to attend.  A food festival was being planned for Orpington 2015 and work continued with Bromley College of Further and Higher Education to develop links with the Hospitality and Catering College with a view to developing a vibrant street food offer in Orpington town centre.

 

Robert Goddard, Thackray Williams Solicitors LLP advised members of the Partnership that there was strong demand for legal services at the present time.

 

RESOLVED that the updates be noted.