Re-location of business to Klinger Industrial Park in Orpington, Bromley
Minutes:
The Chairman welcomed Danny Lennon, Co-founder of Footprint Scenery, to the meeting to provide a presentation about his business and his reasons for relocating to the borough. A copy of the presentation is attached at Appendix A.
In 2020, following a rethink of the business which was brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, a decision was made to move Footprint Scenery from its premises under the railway arches in Peckham, which it had occupied for 16 years. Having outgrown the space, and looking to change the way they worked in order to fulfil their sustainability goals, Footprint Scenery decided to look for an affordable and greener workspace, and were fortunate to find the newly built Klinger Estate on Edgington Way, Orpington.
In response to questions from the Chairman, Mr Lennon said that the main attraction of the premises in the Klinger Estate was its sustainability credentials. It was a new building, which had solar panels on the roof and dedicated EV chargers for their small fleet of company vehicles; and the location offered great access. The theatre and film and tv industries struggled to get things right in terms of sustainability – the starting point for them was to have a building that could assist towards this, and therefore the environmental features offered had been vital when looking for new premises. It was noted that the new premises had very competitive rental rates and more agreeable terms compared to those at their previous location in Peckham.
Lee Thomas – Fairlight Group enquired if Footprint Scenery had signed a green lease or a normal lease. Mr Lennon advised that they had signed a normal lease. Mr Thomas highlighted that in the office market there was a spectrum of green leases, and if premises did not tick all the boxes, companies were not interested in viewing them. Currently there was only one A grade office block in Bromley – there were no other buildings that were compliant, and therefore nothing to attract companies into the borough. The Chairman noted that the Halo Business Park had been built in the Cray Valley and units had been taken quickly due to its credentials. The Allied Bakeries redevelopment had originally been designed to provide more than one unit however Amazon had wanted to take the whole site. The challenge put to developers was when opportunities arose to redevelop old sites they needed to be of the highest specification, and include green credentials in their proposals.
Mr Lennon advised that Footprint Scenery had started to employ an increasing number of local talent and were setting up education and training partnerships with local schools and colleges. Their aims for future growth centred around sustainability and education. Lesley Holland – Bromley Education Business Partnership advised that they supported secondary schools with work experience, and had links with primary schools, and she would be happy to discuss potential projects, or promoting opportunities, following the meeting.
In response to a question from Mike Lewis – Michael Rogers LLP, Mr Lennon advised that Footprint Scenery created sets, scenery and props. They mainly worked for professional companies but, although it may be dependent on budgets, they would be happy to work with amateur groups. It was noted that some of the scenery they created could be reused as part of their community and outreach work around sustainability.
In response to a question from the Chairman, members of the Partnership agreed that, in order to gain a better appreciation of the breadth of activity across the borough, they would be interested in receiving presentations showcasing local businesses.
The Chairman thanked Mr Lennon for his presentation to the Partnership, and wished him, and his business, all the best for the future.