Agenda item

To consider the High Streets Strategy Cabinet Report, Scheduled for consideration by Cabinet at its meeting on 10 February.

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the reports and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor Philip Broadhead, Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning

The Cabinet report for this item is included with the agenda for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

The Chairman invited the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning to present the report, a copy of which had been circulated to each member and which appears as Appendix 'C' to these minutes in the Minute Book. The Portfolio Holder introduced the item and asked the Lead Member for BCP Retail Strategy to provide further updates to the Board on the content of the paper. The Lead Member advised the Board that there was a Workshop held on 19 January, which provided an opportunity to share ideas, observations and thoughts on how to revive a high street. The Board were informed of the number and percentage of empty units across the three main town centres within BCP. It was noted that it was a difficult situation being faced by traders, but it was hoped that when lockdown was over there would be opportunities for high streets to bounce back. The Lead Member suggested that a kick start was needed to get confidence back into town centres and a number of different ideas were shared with the Board to help ensure that void spaces were occupied, help high streets recover and give confidence to landlords. The Chairman commented that it was great that we were being proactive on this by taking innovative steps and ideas and opened the item up to further discussion from Board members which included the following issues:

·       A Councillor commented that the link between transportation and high streets was important and that this needed to be included. In reference to the Workplace Parking Levy, introduced by Nottingham Council which had generated £64m to invest into sustainable transport methods, the Councillor commented that it would be good to see BCP doing something similar with this piece of work. It was noted that the scheme had also attracted external funding.  The Lead member noted that one of the issues with this was that the places most likely to survive the pandemic would be industrial estates and out of town retail parks. Furthermore, finance from car parking was baked into the forecast for BCP. However, there was a whole mix of things that the Council could be doing in this regard and this would come through in the retail strategy. The Portfolio Holder commented that making sure people could get around as part of an enjoyable experience. It was noted that of those living in Boscombe / Bournemouth town centres around half do not have access to a car and when seeking views of the area from young people a number said how easy it was to get around the local area using public transport.

·       With reference to charity shops, a Councillor advised that the shop set up to contribute to the Mayor of Bournemouth’s charities in Boscombe town centre was taking £1800 per week and was looking to increase trading further, and showed that some retail premises were still doing well, even in these difficult times. Charity shops formed a key part of economic recoveries and may have a key place in bringing about thriving hight streets with a mix of provision.

·       A Councillor queries the reason as to why the report from the Lead Member wasn’t appended to the Cabinet report as this would provide greater detail for members of the public and for the Board to have that information available. The Portfolio Holder explained that they were currently working on a number of different areas related to the high street, a number of areas on future of high streets and that this represented a statement of intent for ongoing work. There would be more encompassing workstreams going forward. Member seminars would be a good way to tease out issues and form ideas.

·       It was noted that there were very few mentions of important district centres within the BCP area. There was a recognition that districts were different to major town centres and that this needed to be acknowledged in terms of future high streets. The Portfolio Holder advised that there were 17 recognised different high streets across the BCP conurbation. The Board was advised that lots of these areas were doing well because they were different to the town centre high streets, there was lots of work going on with regards to these areas. The Portfolio Holder confirmed that they wanted to work with as many different partners as possible across the sector whether that was through BIDs or through other means, such as traders associations and other groups in some of the smaller high streets, e.g. Ashley Cross, Broadstone. The Portfolio Holder confirmed that they were working with them to develop.

·       A Councillor commented on paragraph 6 of the report which outlined information from the Centre for Cities, who referred to the general urban area as Bournemouth’ but which also included Poole and Christchurch and suggested it would be preferable if it could be referred to in terms of the three separate entities. The Portfolio Holder confirmed that this was the terminology used by the Centre for Cities, which was why this was particular brought out in the report. However, he advised that he would raise this with them.

·       The Portfolio Holder was asked whether all districts would be involved in the plan or if it would just be confined to Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch High Streets. He confirmed that they would not be going into districts tell them what to do but they would want to provide support which could help and enable. Districts were particularly important with more people working from home they were choosing to stay more local. It was also noted that many retail units were being replaced by service units in district centres. Although a number of district centres were thriving, such as Southbourne, where a number of retailers had identified with the characteristics of its catchment area and the area was prepared to support a number of independent retailers. Other district centres had their own issues to address which were unique to them and it was felt that that there would need to be individual solutions for different districts.

·       A Councillor advised that work had taken place on this previously for Christchurch High Street back in 2003 which had generated some good ideas and suggestions which were not implemented and she advised that she would pass this on to the Lead Member for information and consideration. The report mentioned the R3 group, who were working with Health and Wellbeing Board to support a Dementia Friendly Town in Christchurch. The Lead Member advised that he would certainly take this into consideration.

·       A Councillor commented on the diversity of high streets, which also included other places such as nightclubs and other large empty units such as banks and asked what the potential plans were for these areas. The Portfolio Holder confirmed that he was keen to get some design briefs. It was noted that there were plans coming forward on larger empty premises which would only utilise a section of the property. Investment in bricks and mortar - town centres and retail – big institution suffering enormously. Bigger units represented some of the more challenging issues to deal with and developers would need to be creative when coming forward with plans. This was particularly the case with regards to rental values for these types of premises which had plummeted. A Councillor commented that they were looking forward to seeing this develop and pleased that there was interest in it.

Councillors commented that they were keen to ensure member engagement at ward level, in particular with regards to the local district centres. The Portfolio Holder advised that the Lead Member would be leading on a district advisory group and he gave the Board members a commitment to an ongoing piece of work, which would be a  massive priority going forward with a number of different streams coming through. He confirmed that they would certainly be involving other Councillors on the journey.

Following further discussion particularly with regards to member engagement, it was:

RECOMMENDED to Cabinet that the recommendation in the report be amended as follows:

Cabinet delegates authority to the Director of Development, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Economy and Strategic Planning, to work with partners and ward Councillors, to swiftly develop a strategy and action plan, enabling the delivery interventions that will support our high streets.

Voting: Nem Con

The Chairman thanked the Portfolio Holder and Lead Member and looked forward to things coming forward on this issue.