Minutes:
Ms Sharon Baldwin, Orpington 1st BID Company informed Members that vacancy rates in the town centre were low, however they were finding there was a faster churn of tenants. Larger shop units tended to be those that were empty long term, and landlords were splitting the space into smaller units. Footfall in the town centre remained constant, however there had been a slight slip at the beginning of the week. It was noted that a number of office spaces had been turned into residential units, which had resulted in a loss of lunchtime trade. Work was being undertaken with individual businesses to attract people into the town centre during this period.
The third year of the Orpington Food Festival had taken place in September, and had been extremely successful. Events had included ‘Foodie Friday’, with food trucks and live music, and on Saturday there was a demonstration kitchen which local restaurants used to prepare dishes. The event had ended with a ‘Sunday Social’ BBQ and music, in collaboration with Churches Together. Work with fourteen local schools had been undertaken on a plastic free initiative, and Orpington 1st BID had been awarded Silver Gilt at this year's London in Bloom awards.
A lanyard scheme had been introduced for people with disabilities, and staff across the town centre had been trained in showing more tolerance when dealing with these customers. A project to combat isolation and loneliness had also been taking place in the town centre. Five restaurants had ‘Chatty Chairs’, which indicated where people were happy to be joined by others to sit and talk. A new loyalty scheme, ‘LoLo’, to which 22 businesses had already signed up, would be launching in the town centre shortly.
Upcoming events included: a scarecrow trail during half term; the annual poppy installation; a 40th anniversary event for the Alzheimer’s Society; the Christmas Lights switch-on taking place on Thursday 14th November; and a Santa Dash on Sunday 8th December.
It was noted that The Walnuts Shopping Centre had been sold to Areli Real Estate, who were redeveloping a centre in Maidenhead into a mixed-use scheme.
Ms Frances Forrest, Your Bromley BID Company informed Members that Operation Gemini would take place in the town centre from the 23rd to 27th October, for which the BID would fund additional police officers at peak periods. The main focus was on preventing shop lifting and cycling in pedestrianised areas of the high street. A new shoplifting initiative was also being piloted, with had resulted in three perpetrators being banned from the town centre. This had worked well for two out of the three, and they were working with the police to take out an injunction against the third.
There had been a number of complaints made in relation to the street population, including begging and street sleeping. A number of joint patrols had taken place with the police, and a steady difference had been seen. The “Loose Change to make Real Change” campaign had recently been relaunch, which encouraged people to donate directly to the Bromley Homeless Shelter and deter them from giving money to street beggars.
Upcoming events in the town centre included a Spooky Monsters Trail, which would have prizes donated by businesses, and the poppy installation. The Christmas Lights switch-on would take place on Sunday 17th November, with a ‘Jinglebell Jog’ in collaboration with Mytime Active taking place earlier in the day. Your Bromley BID Company was the lead sponsor for the Bromley Business Awards, taking place on Thursday 7th November. Members were encouraged to sign up for their newsletter, which would be published at the end of the month, via the Your Bromley website www.yourbromley.com.
In response to a question, Ms Forrest said that there was a provisional date of Friday 24th January 2020 for the Mayor of London’s ‘Night Czar’, Amy Lamé, to visit the town centre. A surgery was planned for her to meet with businesses that were involved in the town’s night time economy.
In response to a question from the Chairman, Ms Forrest advised the Partnership that pedestrian flow and footfall in the town centre was doing fairly well. It had improved on this time last year, but had not yet returned to the rate of two years ago. A report on the vacancy rates was currently being prepared for the next Advisory Group meeting.
Ms Zoe Brown, Beckenham Together & Penge SE20 informed Members that Beckenham town centre had passed its interim assessment for Purple Flag status, which meant there was another 18 months until the next full assessment. Consideration would be given as to whether this was something that would continue to be paid for and how to best mitigate questions from BID levy payers. Crime statistics in the town centre were up, however this was believed to be due to people being encouraged to report incidents – the percentage increase looked large, but in reality the numbers were only small.
Recent events had included the Soultown Festival, which had been nominated for Best Small Festival at the UK Festival Awards, and Beckenham Business Day which had taken place at the Odeon. Since the last meeting, two ‘Clock House Celebrates’ events had taken place, and another was planned before Christmas. Upcoming events included a pumpkin trail during half term and the Christmas Lights switch-on taking place on Saturday 23rd November. An ice rink would be installed on Market Green, along with a Christmas market, over the festive period.
In Penge town centre, events that had taken place included ‘Pengefest’, ‘Paws in the Park’, and support had been provided to ‘Men in Sheds’, which was an Age Concern project at risk of having its funding cut. It allowed members to work together on various commissions, work on their own projects or just provide a chance for interaction with other people. Eighteen Shopsafe radios and tourniquet kits had been provided to businesses in the high street, and the BID were looking to fund two additional cameras in the town centre.
Upcoming events included a Halloween trail and the poppy installation. The “Pengemas” Christmas event would take place on Saturday 30th November, and would include a Christmas market, dancing, music and Santa and his elves.
Meerkat Works were continuing to look at cost saving solutions for businesses. Currently, across the two BID areas, for every £1 spent, savings of £3 were being made for the businesses. It was hoped that enough money would be saved to make the BID levy cost neutral across the five year period.
Lorraine McQuillan, LBB Town Centres & BID Development Manager informed Members that work was continuing on the West Wickham BID. The project was currently at the research stage, which involved speaking to businesses and considering what projects could be undertaken. An Open Forum meeting was planned for the following week, with the ballot expected to take place in June 2020.
In terms of business support, a successful #GrowBromley event had taken place with the South East London Business Network (SELBN), which had been attended by around 80 businesses. Upcoming events included a Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) networking lunch and ‘Fit for Tender’ session, which would include presentations on procurement by the London Borough of Bromley. On the 14th November 2019, Business Doctors would also be running a free session on PR and Marketing on a restricted budget.
The Bromley Business Guide was being printed, and would be available for circulation the following month. Members were asked to contact the LBB Town Centres & BID Development Manager if they could suggest any outlets they could be displayed in.
RESOLVED that the recent work around Business Improvement Districts and Business Support in the 2nd quarter of 2019/20 be noted.