Agenda item

To receive the Draft Town Centre Action Plan from Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency, Jobs & Business, Councillor John Batteson, Danny Edwards, Head of Economy and Libby Dunstan, Principal Strategy Officer.

The Chair invited Councillor John Batteson (Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency, Jobs & Business) and Officer Danny Edwards (Head of Economy) to give an overview of the Draft Town Centre Action Plans.

Councillor Batteson thanked the Chair and noted:

·  declining high streets over the last 15 years mean improving town centres is a national issue

·  the Plans’ relationships to the Council Delivery Plan and the work to deliver thriving High Streets; investing in delivering major improvements across Southwark town centres

·  the Action Plans show work tailored to the needs of the designated town centres (Camberwell, Peckham, Elephant and Castle / Walworth and East Street, Bermondsey, and Canada Water), developed through feedback from residents and businesses, Councillor Batteson’s engagement with the businesses and community, and that of the former Cabinet Member

·  the Action Plans show the work to be carried out by the council working with a range of partners and stakeholders such as Business Improvement Districts, Camberwell’s SE5 Forum, Peckham Business Forum and Elephant and Castle Business Forum

·  the Strategic Policy Leads (within the Local Economy Team) would act as single strategic points of contact for stakeholders wishing to build relationships with the council and for building relationships between stakeholders themselves

·  the Strategic Policy Leads are responsible for delivering each of the Action Plan’s objectives

·  the Action Plans include public-facing plans, currently being piloted, which will be updated as the work progresses, making them responsive to residents’ feedback

·  the Action Plans show committed and funded actions through the Thriving High Streets Fund

·  the future funding situation can change as a result of changes in national government policies

·  businesses have communicated hopes that national government will aim to reduce retail theft by considering shoplifting charges for aggregate value below the current £200 threshold

·  (through Danny) that the role of the Town Centre Leads is to be visible within their allocated communities and to use their in-depth area knowledge, working across the council to efficiently coordinate activity and engage with the community

The Chair noted that the report was yet to go to Cabinet, providing an opportunity for the commission to feed into the Town Centre Action Plans.

The commission then asked the following questions regarding:

·  the Town Centre Leads’ roles and how they fit into existing coordinating provision and reporting structures

·  measures of the Plans’ and grants’ success

·  the Action Plans’ support for older residents and provision of wifi, benches and toilets as supportive infrastructure for building footfall and increasing safety

·  the definition of town centres and how smaller shopping streets relate to the Town Centre Action Plans

·  responsibility for deciding where funding is allocated and why the funding allocation process differs from, for example, funding for Neighbourhoods or the Cleaner Greener Safer (CGS) programme

·  seasonality (and associated potential for seasonal employment) – how this related to the Plans

·  opportunities for sharing lessons from areas deemed already to be thriving

·  the balance between local, independent shops and bigger High Street brands, and how the Council can encourage brands to stay where these contribute to increased footfall

·  plans for engaging with universities

In response, Councillor Batteson and Danny explained that the roles of the new Town Centre Leads will evolve. They would coordinate actions within the Local Economy Team and across the Council with an emphasis on shorter-term, action-led delivery rather than producing high-level strategy or vision documents.

Success measures will be developed with input from communities (given the consultative nature of the Plans) and feedback from this Commission. Specific, funded projects had their own evaluation processes.

Councillor Batteson noted that wifi connectivity was an important aspect and that it would be factored into the wider infrastructural development within the Plans.

The Council Delivery Plan defines the five town centres: Peckham; Camberwell; Elephant and Castle / Walworth and East Street; Bermondsey; and Canada Water. Support for and actions in smaller streets and parades are provided through other mechanisms in the Thriving High Streets Programme.

Councillor Batteson explained that funding through the Town Centre Action Plans was ultimately the responsibility of the Cabinet Member. Danny added that the funding was non-Council (being UK Shared Prosperity Fund-derived) and it required the Council to follow the processes and outputs established by the GLA and central government.

So far, local businesses had indicated that seasonality was not especially important but this could be explored further if there was interest at a later date.

The reason for a single point of contact in Town Centres is to provide detailed, local knowledge so that on-the-ground issues could be identified and brought to the Council’s attention.

Lessons from other, already thriving Town Centres had already been shared. These complemented the conversations with businesses specific to the areas of the Action Plans so that best practices both ‘wider’ and ‘deeper’ could be combined. In addition, regular meetings between Bid leads have enabled further sharing of learning.

On the balancing and mixing of smaller, local shops with bigger brands, the Commission heard that the latter can generate spillover interest and business by attracting people to an area who then go on to shop in independent businesses. However, the Council has limited powers at influencing larger commercial interests to stay in an area if this is not to their advantage. Its role in contributing to thriving town centres through increasing footfall is more significant.

The focus of the Town Centre Action Plans is businesses and local residents (including students) whereas engagement with universities happens primarily through the Anchor Network.