Agenda item

To receive a brief overview from the cabinet member for Jobs, Culture and Skills on the development of the proposed plan for revitalisation of high streets and town centres.

To also hear from other stakeholders and to consider scrutiny preparations for forthcoming meetings.

The chair explained that as part of the scrutiny review the commission was particularly interested in understanding the current challenges that high streets and town centres are facing both long standing and in the context of Covid.

Nicole Gordon outlined the experiences of businesses in the Bankside area in the current climate.  Nicole reported on footfall which was down 50% for the time of year, impact of people working from home, area heavily reliant on office workers, occupancy of hotels and impact on the hospitality sector and consumer facing businesses, such as pubs, restaurants and gyms of which 91% were now open.  Theatres still remained closed.

Nicole also reported on redundancies, particularly in the hospitality sector, businesses downsizing as not needing as much space or trying to reduce costs, end of furlough and grants scheme and business rate holidays coming to an end.

Nicole informed the meeting of the main concerns coming from businesses which was whether they could survive over the coming months due to the long period where businesses, particularly hospitality sector would not see customers at the levels that they are used to and need in order to continue.  There was also confusion for office based businesses around guidelines from central government on what businesses can and can’t do, and concerns around employee wellbeing, for those who need to come into the office due to not having right working environment at home.

In respect of challenges that may be facing high streets like those in Bankside, there was the worry of empty spaces on high streets, impact of permitted development rights legislation which would see commercial properties being lost to residential.

Opportunities to explore – next generation businesses that can fill gaps created by larger companies reducing property portfolio or moving out of central London locations may provide opportunities for next generation businesses, entrepreneurs , young people and community organisations who may be able fill those spaces to make sure high streets remain animated.  She stressed that she did not think this would be possible without intervention from bodies such as local authorities who would be able to work with landowners and developers and be able to think creatively about a sustainable recovery to the high street and to breakdown barriers for groups who might not otherwise have opportunities.

The commission also heard from Councillor Stephanie Cryan, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Culture and Skills who provided an overview of the Council’s action plan on revitalising high streets and town centres.  The commission also heard from Danny Edwards, Strategy and Partnerships Manager and Aileen Cahill, Head of Culture.

Questions and discussion arose around the following:

·  Recreating spaces to provide opportunity for creative industries to thrive on the high street

·  STRIDE - Work being undertaken alongside Lewisham, Lambeth and Wandsworth (4 borough strategic investment pot bid) to provide affordable workspace, training and startup support in the Tech and creative industries and to look at how to get more diversity into those sectors. Formerly called South London Innovation Corridor, now known as Stride

·  Questions around the specifics of the action plan and resources to be made available

·  Managing outdoor space through winter months

·  Mapping of areas being covered, particularly mini local economies

·  Concept of Town centre plan around small areas within Southwark – Funding and governance

·  Use of meanwhile spaces and impact on planning and development of residential spaces

·  Creative compacts

·  Providing support to businesses to enable them to reconfigure in changing landscape.