Minutes:
Jessica Naylor, LBB Project Support Officer Regeneration, provided an update regarding the Council’s project proposals for Bromley High Street.
There were currently three new project that the Regeneration team were looking to bring forward to enhance the vitality of the town centre:
- A lighting project on the façade of the Churchill Theatre;
- A tree-lined avenue; and
- Exploring canopy options for the High Street.
With regards to the first project, it was noted that the Churchill Theatre and Bromley Central Library were located at the centre of the pedestrianised High Street – the building provided a landmark within the town centre and was visible from Bromley South Station. As the frontage of the building was a blank and flat canvas, it provided a unique opportunity to enhance the High Street with a creative and innovative lighting programme. There were two proposed lighting improvements. The first would be for lighting to cover the entire eastern and southern façades of the building which could be programmed to change colour and used to support a range of local and national events. The second was for a lighting projection on the eastern façade of the building, which overlooked the pedestrianised area of the High Street. This could be used to support a range of events and enable the heritage and culture of Bromley to be celebrated with static or motion projections.
The main objectives of the project were to use the lighting to create a landmark within the town centre; improve wayfinding from Bromley South Station; enhance the public realm; and to create an atmospheric environment. This work would support the diversification of the High Street and an enhanced evening economy. The LBB Project Support Officer Regeneration advised that consultants had been instructed, and Phase 1 of the project would involve them preparing three concept ideas and drawings, which would be presented within the next month. It was anticipated that the lighting project would be completed by May 2022.
The second project proposed the creation of a tree-lined avenue, increasing the provision of trees between Bromley South Station and the Elmfield Road junction, which may include trees being planted on both sides of the pavement and along the central reservation. Phase 1 of the project would involve topographical and utility surveys being undertaken before the end of January 2022. This would determine whether each of the locations identified were suitable for a tree pit. Once these surveys were completed, the Regeneration team would work with colleagues in Highways, Traffic, Arboriculture and Public Protection to bring the project forward.
Hal Khanom, LBB Head of Economic Development, informed Members that with regards to the third project, some work had previously been undertaken in relation to canopy options for the High Street as a means to attract greater footfall. It was noted that this work had been paused whilst the team focussed on the distribution of grants, but as soon as there was the capacity to do so, this project would be revisited.
Frances Forrest, Your Bromley BID Company, informed Members that a count of vacant units in the town centre had taken place the previous day. Of the 338 units, which included The Glades and The Mall, but not offices or temporary usages, 61 units had been vacant (18.04%). This figure compared well with the count at the end of December 2019, which was pre-pandemic, where 56 vacant units (16.57%) were recorded. It was highlighted that this increase was surprisingly low after what had been a challenging couple of years. Members were advised that there was plenty of interest from businesses looking to come to Bromley, and Ocean Basket would soon be opening in the former Café Rouge unit.
With regards to footfall in Bromley town centre, the data provided showed that footfall had dropped significantly when periods of lockdown were enforced during 2019/20 and 2020/21. It was noted that the last “normal” year for comparison had been 2018/19. There had been a continual increase in footfall from April 2021. By October 2021 footfall had almost reached the levels seen in 2018/19 – but had then dipped, and there had not been the usual peak in December, which was likely to have been impacted by the uncertainties around whether further lockdown restrictions would be implemented. In response to a question from Michael Humphries, Handelsbanken, Ms Forrest advised that footfall was measured within the pedestrianised area of the High Street, with cameras located at Primark and Marks and Spencer.
Recent events in Bromley town centre had involved the installation of brand-new Christmas lights, including 32 trees which were lit up. A reduced switch-on event had taken place on 21st November 2021 and street performers had been located in the High Street on Saturdays from 27th November to 18th December. On one of the days, ‘red envelope’ vouchers, which had been generously donated by businesses, were randomly offered by performing elves to passers-by and gifts/vouchers were also rewarded online in return for people posting Christmas “selfies” in the town centre.
Members were informed that the ‘Snowman Trail’, which had run from mid-November to the end of January was proving to be extremely popular. The trail consisted of large snowmen sculptures decorated by local artists in the theme of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’. The snowmen were located around the town centre and were a great way to showcase Bromley. There had been 3,042 visits to the snowman page on the Your Bromley website from 17th November to 9th January – 41% of visits to the website were for this page, and the total website visits had increased by 382% from previous months.
An Annual Survey of levy payers had recently been carried out, and feedback received indicated that they appreciated the safety and cleanliness of the town centre, as well as the events. In response to a question from Lee Thomas, Fairlight Group, Ms Forrest advised that the BID membership was based on businesses having a rateable value of £20k or over. During the BID’s first 5-year term the starting point at which members paid in was at a rateable value of £15k or over – this had been increased to £20k to help businesses recover from the pandemic as they would all still benefit from anything that the BID undertook within the town centre.
Ms Forrest advised Members that new branding would be launched for Your Bromley in February 2022, along with a new website. In response to a question from the Chairman, Ms Forrest advised that they held a list of the vacant units in the town centre, and it was planned that the new website would provide a platform to encourage people to contact local letting agents with regards to vacant properties.
Ms Forrest advised that a copy of the presentation (Appendix B) and additional footfall data (Appendix C) would be provided to Members, and are appended to the minutes.
Mark Haynes, The Glades, informed Members that footfall during 2021 had been 11.2m, which was -2.2% compared to 2018. However the 2021 figure was only for the period 12th April – 31st December, as prior to that The Glades had been closed due to the enforced lockdown restrictions, and was positive compared to the different platforms that reported national footfall. There had been an increase in footfall during December 2021, with people shopping for Christmas earlier due to the new strain of the COVID-19 virus and concerns that further lockdown restrictions may be enforced. It was highlighted that footfall had been impacted by the pandemic for the last couple of years, and there was no data available for The Glades for 2019. The number of car park visitors during 2021 had been 884,779 for 2021, which was -37% compared to 2019.
During 2021 there had been twelve new stores (Paperchase and Ted Baker) including pop-ups, refurbishments (The Perfume Shop and The Body Shop) and kiosks (Sky), which was extremely positive during a year that had been significantly disrupted by the pandemic. Bunka and Marlowe’s Burgers were both local operators that had also opened units in The Glades. A Local Showcase initiative had been launched, working with local artists and makers to display their products and creations in, or on, shopfronts within the shopping centre. Students from Harris Academy (Beckenham) had also created artwork which had been photographed and installed on the hoardings of empty units. The Glades had also appointed a new Marketing Agency, Blackline Creative.
The Glades had supported over ten different charities during 2021, including Bromley Autism Partnership, Chartwell Cancer Trust, The British Legion and Bromley Foodbank/Trussell Trust. The Chartwell Cancer Trust had received over 460 gifts that had been donated via The Glades ‘Giving Tree’ at Christmas. Shoppers were able to select a label, listing the age and gender of a child – a gift could then be purchased and handed to the Guest Service Desk, following which the Chartwell Cancer Trust would collect them and distribute to the children and families that they supported.
Mr Haynes advised that some sustainability milestones had been achieved in 2021. The Glades were the winners of the Community Engagement Award at the BIG Biodiversity Challenge Awards (CIRIA) for its Green Roof, above the Restaurant Terrace, and the Wild Glades on-line festival, and they had also been the overall winner of the BIG Biodiversity Awards (CIRIA). The Green Roof and the Wild Glades on-line festival had also won a Gold Award at the Green Apple Environment Awards and had achieved the ISO 14001 sustainability accreditation. A Net Zero Carbon audit of the shopping centre had been completed with recommendations, such as phasing out the use of gas, that would be worked through over the next few years.
With regards to 2022, Mr Haynes informed Members that the leasing picture was improving, following a depressed market over the last 18 months or so. However many new leases were turnover only deals or rents below those previously achieved. New agreements were also capital investment heavy, meaning that fewer new retailers could be supported from the same pot of capital investment. It was looking positive, with five national multiples currently nearing completion of leases or were in negotiation – one of those was Bread Ahead who were taking the former Oasis unit at the High Street entrance. Three new restaurants would be opening shortly – Black Cab Coffee and Cocktail Co and Wing Shack (both on the Restaurant Terrace) and Bella Roma on the lower mall next to Boots. Suits Direct would be opening in January, located on the upper mall next to Crew/Phase Eight, and the former Debenhams unit had been stripped out ready for whatever the space would be used for.
Lee Thomas, Fairlight Group, congratulated Mr Haynes for the work undertaken and highlighted how important The Glades was to Bromley town centre. Mr Haynes emphasised that The Glades was more than just opening up shops, and partners working in conjunction with each other would have a real benefit for the town centre. A copy of the presentation is attached at Appendix D.
Gary Hillman, N. Hillman & Sons, informed Members that he owned The Royal Bell which had opened in May 2021 and had a successful summer period. Temporary planning permission had been applied for a market hall concept inside the building – as the outcome of this was still awaited, they had unfortunately had to close, and no further investment could be made into the building. The Chairman suggested that Mr Hillman send him further details following the meeting.
The Chairman thanked the LBB Project Support Officer Regeneration, Frances Forrest and Mark Haynes for their presentations to the Partnership.
RESOLVED that the updates be noted.