Minutes:
Members of the Partnership had undertaken a range of activities since the last meeting.
Ms Kate Miller (intu Bromley) was not present at the meeting but provided a written update to the Partnership as follows:
Intu Bromley
• Footfall remained tough at -4% for the year to date but there had been a change of behaviour, with customers staying longer in the centre and spending more. Gift card sales were very strong and the average transaction value had increased by 10% compared to last year.
• The Restaurant Terrace adjacent to the Queen’s Gardens was now fully open and trading well with very positive feedback from customers. There was still some work to finish including signage, lobby works and some external landscaping. The centre was planning a food festival in September 2016 working with all the food outlets in the centre.
• The main centre was now trading until 7pm each night (still 9pm on a Thursday). The new restaurants would trade until 11pm.
• Recently opened new tenants in the main centre were Kuoni, Skechers and Lovisa.
• Completed refurbishments had taken place for Body Shop, Joe’s Kitchen, Patisserie Valerie and Massimo Dutti.
• Ongoing works included H&M commencing a full refurbishment and taking additional space.
• With regards to vacant units, the majority were in negotiation with one due to start shop fitting imminently.
Bromley BID
• Had now completed its first quarter as a live BID.
• Frances Forrest had settled in well as BID Manager and now had an Events & Marketing Coordinator, Thomas Zane-Black.
• There were now two smaller working groups focussing on:
1. Promotion of the town (The “Prominent” group)
2. Security and appearance of the town (The “Safety & Smart” group)
• First major event held during the second week of Wimbledon. Results would be reviewed properly but some very positive comments from customers about the quality of the event. It had been supported by a number of businesses offering discounts and promotional offers.
• The next meeting of the BID Advisory Group was 13th July 2016.
Ms Erica Watts and Mr Sean McGinn, Affinity Sutton, informed the Partnership of a new European Social Fund (ESF) project, ‘Love London Working’ which would be looking to work with local providers to get people back into work. The project had initially been established to support their residents, but was now being match funded by Affinity Sutton to support anyone needing help. Members of the Partnership were encouraged to engage with Affinity Sutton if they would be interested in participating. It was also noted that Affinity Sutton had a well-established apprenticeship scheme and could provide support to employers.
Ms Liz Waghorn, Jobcentre Plus, reported the latest figures to the end of April 2016. There had been a decrease in the number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance to 1,920, which was encouraging. The 18-24 year old category had also seen a decrease to 265 creating a 41.1% reduction. It was noted that the switch to Universal Credit was slowly taking place, and that a large number of the 499 on the register were young people.
The main focus was continuing to be the 50+ category, which filled 29.4% of the total register. Another area of major concern was Employment Support Allowance with 8,300 claimants. Jobcentre Plus was looking to work with GP’s around the issuing of ‘Fit to Work’ certificates to support people to continue to work towards employment where their health allowed. Further Disability Confident events were planned and details would be circulated to the Partnership when they became available.
Mr Michael Humphries, Handelsbanken, reported that business was continuing as usual following the Brexit Referendum. Loans and funds were still available, and the company had been supporting the local community by picking up deals that other banks had pulled out of.
Mr Alex Henderson, MSE UK, informed the group that business was going well in the light of the Brexit Referendum and the current exchange rate was an added bonus. Mr Henderson was trying to lobby the Government and speak to trade associations to encourage them to buy British goods for the NHS.
Mr Steve Nelson, South East London Chamber of Commerce, advised the Partnership that Link ‘n’ Drink business networking events would be commencing shortly. The next Bromley Breakfast meeting would be taking place on Thursday 28th July 2016 at the Bromley Court Hotel, with the guest speaker being Will Curtis, Managing Director at London Biggin Hill Airport.
It was noted that there were concerns over some of the parking signs near Henry’s Bar on Ringer’s Road. A number of members had received parking tickets due to confusing sign stating parking was free after 6.30pm, only to contradict this at the bottom of the sign in small text saying resident permit holders only 6.30pm-8.00pm. There was also a parking bay on the end which only allowed parking for 5 minutes, despite people having paid for a longer time period.
Mr Lee Thomas, Fairlight Group, was pleased to inform the group that the company’s serviced offices were currently all occupied and more space was needed.
RESOLVED that the updates be noted.