o Key updates from Partners
Minutes:
Carol Arnfield – LBB Head of Service for Early Years, School Standards and Adult Education advised that the end of the academic year was approaching. Members of the partnership were reminded that access to essential skills training such as English and English as a Second Language (ESL) was free.
Gary Hillman – N.Hillman & Sons advised issues with planning continued to slow development opportunities although there were some exciting future opportunities at both the Royal Bell Hotel and Flamingo Park.
Anne-Marie Douglas – Jobcentre Plus advised a local jobs fayre was being held at Burnt Ash Lane. Members of the Partnership were encouraged to send details of any current vacancies and it was agreed that email details would be provided following the meeting.
Chris Glover – Churchill Theatre advised that a jobs fayre would be held in the library the following week. A successful Make Music Day had been held and Bromley had taken part for the first time. At the weekend Floral Fest had taken place in the Town Centre. On 15 June a Safer Business Action Day had been held and Bromley BID was partnering with the Council for the next BR1 Lates event.
Christopher Evans – Community Links Bromley (CLB) informed members that a Volunteering Award event had been held in the presence of the Mayoress. A number of people had been recognised at the event and the youngest award winner had been 16. Another participant had been involved in volunteering for 53 years.
Chris Deadman – MyTime Active informed members that it had been a relatively positive start to the year with an increase in customer through put. The challenge was to balance the pricing strategy to ensure demand was not dampened. The labour market was a significant challenge and communication continued to be an ongoing challenge.
Maria Humphreys – London South East Colleges advised that the College welcomed more opportunities for work experience placements as this would help to develop work ethic.
Zoe Carr – Penge SE20 BID Company informed members that the London Festival of Architecture was in full swing along with the Penge and Palace trail. There were a number of volunteer projects going on and Pride in the Park had recently taken place. As well as a number of other events, Paws in the Park would be held on Saturday. The Partnership noted that there were issues with school pupils engaging in Anti-Social behaviour in Penge. Extra security teams had been bought in but if the issues were not addressed there would be an impact on footfall. It was noted that the BID had not yet signed its partnership agreement with LBB.
Bruce Walker - Lansdown Asset Management advised that there were a lot of schemes providing urgently needed housing which were currently caught up in the planning system. This had created a bottle neck but there was a need to get these housing schemes moving. The Partnership also noted that schemes were being introduced to try to encourage more students, especially girls, into construction.
Lee Thomas – Fairlight Group highlighted that businesses were under pressure and planning consents were taking a long time. The market was suppressed and rising interest rates would compound these challenges if they continued.
The Vice-Chairman – London Biggin Hill Airport (LBHA) informed members that business was going well, and performance remained better than pre-covid. The hotel was now finished, and Bombardier had received approval for solar power. Plans were underway for completion of a spatial survey to provide granular data in order to develop an understanding of growth at a local and national level and a presentation on the outcome of the survey could be provided at a future meeting.
A visiting Member also suggested that BHAL could host a future meeting of the Bromley Economic Partnership.
Chandra Sharma, representing the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) advised that a business confidence index had been launched. Inflation figures were also being closely monitored.
Chris Travers – Orpington 1st BID Company informed members that occupancy in the high street was strong, but it was unclear whether it would sustained over the coming months as there had been a drop in spending. Coronation celebrations had been successful as had the Orpington Literary Festival. A Children’s Business Fayre would be held in July and a Music Festival was planned for August.