o What are the opportunities for employment space, types of space, and where?
o What are the constraints for employment space?
o What does the pipeline for employment space look like?
o How do we promote viability of commercial space over residential prior to the Local Plan?
o How do we encourage developers to come forward?
o What type of business support is required for established businesses to enable them to continue to grow?
o What other work is being done by partners that we are not aware of?
Minutes:
The Chairman welcomed John Baker – Chairman of The Commercial Park Group to the meeting for discussion of this item.
Members were shown a video of the Bromley Park development: https://vimeo.com/575279418/872da049a6
Mike Lewis – Michael Rogers LLP informed the Partnership that this demonstrated the pinnacle of Grade A office space that could be achieved which was brand new and of a high specification.
The Chairman noted that when speaking with companies who let office space in Central London, Bromley was not put forward as a relocation option as there was little office stock available. Mr Lewis said that when he spoke with representatives of major West End firms, they were often unaware that the travel time between Bromley South Station and Victoria Station was only 15 minutes and that the borough also had an airport. There was a job to do to get these messages across – The Commercial Park Group was emphasising this, but it was considered that more help was needed from the Council. Katy Woolcott – London Biggin Hill Airport agreed that the airport was a unique selling point for the borough. Formula 1 Management was an example of a large company, with a large number of employees, that had based themselves in the borough because of the airport. It was important that the good quality of life and global connectivity was being articulated in the marketing of the borough.
Lee Thomas – Fairlight Group highlighted that the green agenda had been accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rise in fuel prices. Grade A office space would be new to the market as the old stock could not be refurbished to this standard. The old stock was likely to be turned into other uses which meant that the office hubs would not be retained unless A grade offices came forward and the Local Plan was supportive of such employment uses.
Mr Baker – Chairman of The Commercial Park Group advised that the partnership of the John Baker Group and Sir Robert McAlpine had designed the proposed Bromley Park development, located on Elmfield Road. There was a need to build and develop prime real estate as companies wanted spaces that they could occupy long-term and required associated facilities and amenities. Phase 1 of the Bromley Park scheme proposed the redevelopment of Wells House, which would deliver around 100,000 sq. ft. of Grade A office space, and an application for a further 50,000 sq. ft. had been submitted in the vicinity. Bromley South had been pitched as a commercial hub which had great transport links and was in close proximity to London Biggin Hill Airport and Gatwick Airport, and shopping centres such as The Glades and Bluewater. Companies were looking for large spaces – to attract big companies, the right environment needed to be created and Bromley needed to “be ahead of the game” in providing commercial basis for the future. There were two major organisations on the verge of signing up and the potential lettings could bring a further 6,000 people into the town centre. Mr Baker said that Bromley provided a green borough, and he was supremely confident that these developments would succeed – however there was a need to ensure that planning applications were turned around much quicker.
Councillor Yvonne Bear highlighted that the review of the Local Plan provided the opportunity to rethink things. The changes to permitted development had altered the balance and the competing needs of housing and business needed to be considered – spaces to be used as hubs for businesses identified. Ben Johnson – LBB Head of Planning Policy and Strategy informed the Partnership that they were in the very early stages of the Local Plan. The first stage would be to gather evidence, looking at a range of needs and there were a number of key issues to tackle. The need for employment land use would have to be demonstrated and identified, which may prevent other uses from taking it over. In response to a question from the Chairman, the LBB Head of Planning Policy and Strategy said that consultation on the Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for Orpington town centre was underway, and for Bromley town centre was expected to commence in the summer, which provided guidance to help the implementation of planning policies. Councillor Bear noted that the second stage of the Local Plan review would look at issues, such as that raised by the LBB Head of Economic Development relating to transport links to the industrial areas of the borough.
Councillor Hannah Gray, Executive Assistant for Renewal, Recreation and Housing/Small Business Champion said she was a supporter of the business districts, which were essential across the borough, however there was a need to consider other elements. With regards to London Biggin Hill Airport, it was highlighted that accommodation was needed – Bombardier had built a huge hangar and increased the number of staff employed, but they were struggling to identify residential accommodation for apprentices through to highly qualified engineers. There was also a need to improve connectivity and increase the availability of high fibre broadband in the industrial areas of the borough. All of these elements would be required, or businesses would not come to the area.
Chris Travers – Orpington 1st BID Company highlighted that they often described their location as the London/Kent gateway and enquired as to what opportunities were foreseen outside of Bromley town centre. Mr Lewis said that, from an office perspective, rental values in Orpington had suffered in comparison to Bromley. The Bromley South area was in a key position beside the station, whereas Orpington Station was a 10-minute walk up the hill from the town centre – the office area had been at the bottom of Knoll Rise, however much of the office space had been turned into residential units.
Mr Thomas emphasised that industrial areas were just as important and noted that there were good transport links to the Nugent Shopping Park area. There had been a change of emphasis to retail parks and these had displaced jobs into other industrial spaces – there was a need to address how to retain businesses. Councillor Bear advised that new and interesting businesses had been attracted into that area with Amazon taking over the former Allied Bakery site and the establishment of the Halo Business Park. The LBB Head of Planning Policy and Strategy agreed about the importance of employment and industrial land. This was linked to the process of seeking evidence for the requirement of employment land, and that there were several challenges to be met.
In response to a question from Mr Travers, the LBB Head of Planning Policy and Strategy advised that he was not aware of any staffing issues within the planning department. Some applications were complex, and bigger schemes in particular took more time to assess – it was not within the Council’s gift to change the planning system. Michael Humphries of Handelsbanken considered that the perception of planning was a huge issue – major developers were frustrated with the timescales which was why they were looking outside of the borough. There was a need to be “fleet of foot” and consider how processes were being operated – the implementation of the Local Plan in two years’ time would be too late. The big retailers would not be attracted to the area if there was not the footfall which offices would provide. The need for the Council and businesses to work together was emphasised. The LBB Head of Planning Policy and Strategy advised that the Local Plan review was a long process – it involved rounds of consultations and presentation to the Secretary of State, none of which was within the Council’s control. Ms Woolcott said there was a need for local policies to map national policies in order to provide transparency.
The LBB Head of Economic Development questioned how developers could be encouraged to bring forward commercial developments in preference to residential schemes in the area of Bromley South. In other locations within the borough where rents were lower and there were viability challenges to bringing workspace forward, the LBB Economic Development team was interested in partnering with developers and operators to leverage external grants for affordable workspace delivery. For example there was a shortage of light industrial space which was increasingly at risk from Permitted Development Rights (PDR). The LBB Head of Economic Development would undertake further work to understand the growth sectors around Bromley, including in Kent, to take advantage of Bromley’s position as a gateway between London and the wider South East.
Ms Woolcott highlighted the issue of sustainability – there was increased demand for electricity and a sustainable way of accessing it needed to be identified.
Mr Thomas said that as a developer, continuity was required. If members of staff in the Council changed it was difficult for things to be “kept on track”, and key people needed to be kept in place long-term.