Minutes:
Bromley Economic Partnership received a presentation from Charlotte Ryan, LBB Economic Development and a copy of the presentation is attached at Appendix B.
The Partnership noted that the first BR1 Lates event was held on 27April 2023 and the success of the event had exceeded all expectations with over 3000 visitors – a significant increase in footfall in the library which resulted in increased footfall in the High Street. The success of the event had demonstrated that there was demand for evening activities in the Town Centre.
The next event was due to be held on 25 July 2023 and would be a sport and wellbeing festival. Members of the Partnership were asked to promote the digital posters that had been produced for the event through social media channels.
Other events that would be taking place in the High Street over the coming weeks included the Umbrella Project, raising awareness of neurodiversity and a winter lights spectacle, with further details being provided at the next meeting.
In response to a question, it was agreed that Members of the Bromley Economic Partnership would be added to the BID circulation list.
The Partnership also noted that Bromley BID were keen to take on the BR1 Lates branding and keep it up to date.
In response to a question, the Economic Development Manager explained that footfall was captured using cameras and mobile phone data. Spend was measured using Visa and Mastercard data for Bromley Town Centre which enabled officers to see what people were spending on their credit cards. This then enabled a year-on-year comparison. Unfortunately, there was no way of monitoring smaller cash spends. The Chairman highlighted the importance of gathering indicative measures which demonstrated that the events that were being held were impacting on footfall and spend.
A Member of the Partnership congratulated Officers for their organisation of such a successful BR1 Lates event. It was suggested however that a hashtag for a Twitter feed could have amplified the positive messages from the evening and possibly promote upcoming events in the high street. Members of the Partnership suggested that it would be helpful to improve communications around the event and ensure that all interested parties were informed.
Members of the Partnership discussed ongoing issues with parking in the Town Centre and the challenges this posed in terms of encouraging people into the High Street in the evenings. The Assistant Director for Culture and Regeneration explained that, purely based on data, there was an over capacity of car parking in the Town Centre, although challenges with the reduction in the Glades opening hours and the resulting impact on events in the Town Centre were acknowledged. It was also acknowledged that car parking was not always available in the places where people would want to park for events in the evening.
A Member of the Partnership also reported that there had been reports from business owners that the introduction of cashless parking was acting as a barrier to people going into Town Centres. The Assistant Director agreed to check the data that was available.
The Chairman asked for an update on the wider Night-time Strategy that was being developed for the Borough. The Assistant Director confirmed that the BR1 Lates events were pilot events and data was being gathered to inform a Borough-wide strategy. The Chairman noted that the funding received was specifically for Bromley, but evidential data would be gathered which would justify hosting events across the Borough.