Minutes:
Ms Kate Miller, The Glades was not present for this agenda item but provided a written update to the Partnership as follows:
• On 15th December 2016, intu Properties had sold the shopping centre to Alaska Permanent Fund with the London Borough of Bromley retaining their 15% stake.
• On 16th December 2016, the centre rebranding had started to switch the name back to The Glades, and this work was continuing.
• 2016 had finished strongly for the centre. After a tougher start to the year footfall ended at +0.6% with the new restaurants performing very strongly. Gift card sales were +5% compared to last year, with Average Transaction Value increasing by +8%.
• Recent new tenants, Molton Brown and Bobbi Brown, had good sales in December. Other new tenants included Watch Lab and Lola’s Cupcakes.
• The centre’s busiest day was Thursday 22nd December 2016 with over 116,000 customers through the doors.
• The centre had paid for additional police support on the busiest days, but there had been no significant security issues.
Mr David Warnes and Mr Andrew Cox, London South East Colleges were not present at the meeting but provided a written update to the Partnership as follows:
• SHaW Futures Academy
The Bromley Educational Trust was launching a public consultation on the education provision for a proposed new specialist secondary school in Bromley - the first of its kind in London. The Science, Health and Wellbeing (SHaW) Futures Academy would offer 11-19 year olds an innovative blend of academic and technical education in a brand new building with industry-standard facilities.
• The new BR6 Bakehouse
London South East Colleges’ new BR6 Bakehouse, based in Orpington, was now in its final stages of construction. It would open its doors for the very first time in spring 2017. This student-led business would service staff, students and the public with freshly baked cakes, bread and pastries; coffees, teas and a selection of fine wines.
Mr Lee Thomas, Fairlight Group reported that the serviced offices were currently full. Demand was strong and more space was needed for development, particularly sites in central Bromley for building office space.
Ms Liz Waghorn, Jobcentre Plus advised that the number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), including those claiming Universal Credit, had held steady at 2,606. Claimants in the 18-24 year old category had dropped, but the number of claimants in the 50+ category remained high. It had been announced that there would be a focus on disability and mental health, for which further updates would be provided at future meetings.
Ms Melanie Ross, Barclays Bank PLC informed the Partnership that the Bromley Community Fund would be hosting a quiz night at Bromley Football Club on 9th February 2017. Members were advised that they could contact Ms Ross at melanie.ross@barclays.com for further information.
Ms Frances Forrest, Your Bromley BID Company advised members that their quarterly networking session would be taking place on 24th January 2017 at Texas Jacks, with a ‘make your till ring’ event. Any enquiries could be made through www.yourbromley.com. Members were informed that the website also had a job portal which allowed businesses to advertise job vacancies free of charge. Currently these job vacancies, a number of which were within the retail sector, were not being filled. It was noted that the website was also a source for special offers and discounts being offered by businesses in the town centre.
Mr Andy Oliver, Stevenson Heating Limited advised members that he had taken over the company a year ago after it had gone into administration. He was looking to progress the business in its second year, but needed new premises.
Ms Terri Johnson, South East London Chamber of Commerce informed members that they were still looking to source new venues with car parking and good transport links for their events. The Chambers’ publication, Masthead had recently been published and dispatched to businesses.
Ms Carol Arnfield, LBB Head of Service – Education advised the Partnership that the LBB Adult Education team had seen the same trends as Jobcentre Plus, and offered to link up with them to provide training for the 50+ category.
Mr Steve Wheeler attended the meeting representing the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The FSB had been involved with Small Business Saturday, which had taken place on the first Saturday in December 2016. The events ‘selfie competition’ had been won by a company in Bromley and the FSB would be helping them to promote their business throughout the year. Mr Wheeler advised members that he had been speaking with the agent for the space above Sainsbury’s in Chislehurst. Two gyms had indicated interested in the space, but the infrastructure would not support their equipment. He believed the site had great potential for office space, and any help and support that could be offered to secure the site would be appreciated.
Mr Dave Freeborn, Proctors advised members that following the Brexit Referendum, it had been expected that sales would struggle. He was pleased to report that contrary to this, seven sales had been secured during the first full weekend of 2017. It was noted that more land and opportunities were needed as demand was even stronger than last year.
Mr Michael Humphries, Handelsbanken reported that their position was looking positive and there was a ‘can do’ and ‘want to do’ attitude towards conducting business. Many businesses had taken the view to continue as normal as any implications were still two years away.
Mr Alex Henderson, MSE UK reported that the manufacturing industry had found 2016 to be a difficult year. Since the Brexit Referendum the weak pound had helped with exporting goods, and they had noted that German competitors had started to increase their prices. They were quietly confident for 2017 as large tenders were coming up in the UK and abroad and they were currently undertaking a recruitment drive for production.
RESOLVED that the updates be noted.