I Don't know if any of this can come our way. I thought I'd stick it on the forum incase it's passed under the radar.:
The Government has unveiled a £3m fund to help regenerate high streets which have been hit by the recession.
The fund will be shared between some of England’s hardest-hit areas to allow councils to replace boarded up shops with projects such as art galleries or community learning centres.
57 local authorities have been given grants worth more than £50,000 each to help prevent their high streets becoming ghost towns.
Designer Wayne Hemingway is involved in a scheme in Gateshead which will see an empty building turned into a business space for local creative industries.
He said: “This is about giving the creative community a helping hand and putting empty units to good use. It has the potential to attract leaders and entrepreneurs to Gateshead and give the local economy a boost.”
Communities Secretary John Denham said: “We know that the downturn has really hurt high streets in areas of high deprivation across England.
“Those councils will now be able to use our funding to come up with their own creative ideas to transform their boarded-up shops into something useful like a learning centre, meeting place for local people or showroom for local artists”.
In April, the Government set out a series of measures aimed at making it easier for local groups to take over vacant stores. They included speeded-up planning procedures, extra powers for local councils to intervene and standard short-term leases.
Original link to article:
http://www.drapersonline.com/news/indep ... 90.article
Government pledges £3m to regenerate UK high streets
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sydenhamboy
- Posts: 264
- Joined: 8 Oct 2006 10:33
- Location: sydenham
Yep I heard about this ... a representative from Penge was moaning that they won't get anything because they are Bromley and that doesn't constitute a London borough (unlike Lewisham or Lambeth) ... so we might be lucky. That said it just seems a way of plugging the gap in empty premises and helping business fill those gaps over xmas - which to me seems like a green light for those crappy little business ventures that we don't need any more of. We want proper, brave, in-it-for-the-long-haul investors such as delicatessens; 'normal' butchers, restaurants etc. not 'gap-fillers' selling mobile phone covers, mops and cheap batteries that don't last very long etc etc.
and bin liners.
and bin liners.
It would be lovely if the high street could go under a regeneration to the effect that one could shop there. However, the reality of it is is that a majority of people do their big shop in Supermarkets. There doesnt seem to be that much money in Sydenham hence the pawnshops and the £ shops. I havent gone to a restaurant myself in a long time. I have tried the local coffee shops - now that we have 3.
Has anyone heard of transition towns, its were people are encouraged to shop local and keep the money in the area. However they only time I go on the high street funnily enough is to buy...... plastic bags
It will be interesting to see how the money will be used.
Has anyone heard of transition towns, its were people are encouraged to shop local and keep the money in the area. However they only time I go on the high street funnily enough is to buy...... plastic bags
It will be interesting to see how the money will be used.
Bromley is a London Borough!! It's in Greater London!! That's why Boris Johnson goes to Bromley sometimes. There's red TLF London buses there!! Also that's why it's called the London Borough of Bromley!!!, so Penge may benefit.sydenhamboy wrote:Yep I heard about this ... a representative from Penge was moaning that they won't get anything because they are Bromley and that doesn't constitute a London borough (unlike Lewisham or Lambeth) ... so we might be lucky.
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Cllr John Getgood
- Posts: 34
- Joined: 8 Jan 2009 11:30
- Location: Sydenham
Penge will not benefit. Bromley as a whole is too affluent to attract much in the way of government grant based on deprivation. There's no doubt that Penge and Crystal Palace lose out as a result. But while money is tight, the government will prioritise those areas most in need. It's to the government's credit that grants like this are still being made. Bromley should have the resources to make the investment itself. Bromley's priority though has always been to keep the lowest council tax in outer London.
Cllr John Getgood
Penge & Cator
Cllr John Getgood
Penge & Cator
I remember vaguely hearing about this some time ago that empty shop units were being let (as I thought) for learning and creative purposes on a temporary basis. I tried to find out more and contacted Lewisham Council to see if they could enlighten me. I didn’t know enough about the proposal so probably didn’t explain myself very well, although Lewisham was very helpful. I now know what it is about, so thanks. Would it be Lewisham Council itself that would have to apply and if Lewisham were lucky enough to receive funding, how would it be distributed? Lewisham covers a very wide area and there are so many local shopping area in the borough that are sadly looking run down stretching from New Cross to the Bromley borders. If the Council has to apply for the grant does a specific area, such as Sydenham, then have to apply to Lewisham or can Sydenham apply direct. Does anyone know the procedure? It’s a nice idea but would need some commitment to take it forward. Opinions are important but action’s even better!
False.mrs woman wrote: ...There doesnt seem to be that much money in Sydenham hence the pawnshops and the £ shops. I havent gone to a restaurant myself in a long time...
23.6% of Sydenham residents are in the highest social grade at the last count. This is the ABC1/AB1 demographic.
Honestly, why do people think Blue Mountain/The Dolphin etc are such roaring successes? Why do people think we are seeing JH Skincare moving a posh beauticians from Lordship Lane and landing up on Kirkdale? Whatever the reasoning for the move it is Sydders that she came to.
There are large areas of affluence in Sydenham. Yes, there are areas of poverty (let's not run them down again) but it really rankles that people run down an area without really looking at it in detail.
I can assure anyone that from leafleting large areas of Sydders for the High St improvements that there are a great many comfortable people here. You simply do not see them on the High St (save a couple of obvious places).
In short, the High St and the fare on offer is reflective of the people that use it, however you want to pigeon-hole them. I feel excluded. I personally (and I know many people who feel the same) would like to support more businesses and spend a great deal more of my money on the High St but will continue to shop in town until things change and the 'balance' is correct.
Alot of people who I bumped into and got chatting to when leafleting have turned their back on the High St. We have a challenge to attract them back once the regeneration of the High St happens.
Note: I do not wish for Sydders to become a middle-class ghetto and welcome the mixture of haves and have-nots. Lesser Dulwich is somewhere we ought to aspire to in the sense that Lordship Lane has it's Icelands and it's Sea Cow as is reflective of the make-up of the residents of the area...
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CaptainCarCrash
- Posts: 2852
- Joined: 23 Jun 2009 20:04
- Location: Even further than before
Ulysses Wrote: Note: I do not wish for Sydders to become a middle-class ghetto and welcome the mixture of haves and have-nots. Lesser Dulwich is somewhere we ought to aspire to in the sense that Lordship Lane has it's Icelands and it's Sea Cow as is reflective of the make-up of the residents of the area.
You have neglected to mention overpriced furniture and quaint little nik-nak shops oh and a hifi shop that does'nt sell hifi but they do cars for £550.00.
Iceland and fish and chips, aim high why dont ya.
You have neglected to mention overpriced furniture and quaint little nik-nak shops oh and a hifi shop that does'nt sell hifi but they do cars for £550.00.
Iceland and fish and chips, aim high why dont ya.
You have lost me.
Iceland and Sea Cow are perfectly adequate examples of differences in income and taste/behaviour/preference.
Let us hypothesize. It's Friday evening and a good Catholic family are looking forward to having fish. It's also a welcome relief for the main cook from the daily effort of preparing/heating meals and so they all look forward to the treat.
Family A doesn't have alot of disposable income. So they shop in Iceland. Debatable quality but the frozen fish & chips ready meals feed the family and is within budget.
Family B has alot of disposable income. They also want to know that they are eating ethical, good quality food. So they frequent Sea Cow.
Perhaps you can cite better examples given you live in the area yourself but I chose the example as it does outline how SE22 strikes a better balance. The shops there serve the haves and the have-nots. Sydenham High St caters primarily for the have-nots. Although this is changing and will (from a selfish standpoint) hopefully continue to do so until the correct equilibrium is achieved.
Iceland and Sea Cow are perfectly adequate examples of differences in income and taste/behaviour/preference.
Let us hypothesize. It's Friday evening and a good Catholic family are looking forward to having fish. It's also a welcome relief for the main cook from the daily effort of preparing/heating meals and so they all look forward to the treat.
Family A doesn't have alot of disposable income. So they shop in Iceland. Debatable quality but the frozen fish & chips ready meals feed the family and is within budget.
Family B has alot of disposable income. They also want to know that they are eating ethical, good quality food. So they frequent Sea Cow.
Perhaps you can cite better examples given you live in the area yourself but I chose the example as it does outline how SE22 strikes a better balance. The shops there serve the haves and the have-nots. Sydenham High St caters primarily for the have-nots. Although this is changing and will (from a selfish standpoint) hopefully continue to do so until the correct equilibrium is achieved.
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CaptainCarCrash
- Posts: 2852
- Joined: 23 Jun 2009 20:04
- Location: Even further than before
If the money is £3M I cant see what they will acheive given the area it does'nt seem like an awfull lot given the way things are today. How will they attract new business and I wonder what they will spend it on. a few new lamp posts and block paving may no be enough so it will be interesting to see how it develops.
Confusion still reigns...mikecg wrote:If the money is £3M I cant see what they will acheive given the area it does'nt seem like an awfull lot given the way things are today. How will they attract new business and I wonder what they will spend it on. a few new lamp posts and block paving may no be enough so it will be interesting to see how it develops.
I do wonder if you are confusing the proposed £3M scheme for Sydenham Road with this £3M national initiative?
If you are referencing the wider national initiative I wholehearteldy agree. 57 local authorities getting a paltry £50,000 each will make little difference in some of the UK's most deprived areas. Scroll down for the 20 officially worst.
http://www.channel4.com/4homes/on-tv/best-and-worst/
If you are referencing the current facade and experience of using/walking through or driving through Sydenham Road then I also agree. But I think £3M will make a huge difference. Tidying up the area and improving the traffic throughput will make actually being on Sydenham Road a much more pleasant experience. This ought to lead to an increase not only in footfall but also in the demographic spread of said footfall. This should deal with the current 'exclusivity'* that pervades in Sydenham Road.
* The shops here ARE exclusive but not in a good way.
Some people seem to be missing the point. This is quoted from a recent article:
The Government is determined to help ensure town centres remain vibrant places for people to meet and shop. John Denham is today providing £3m to help 57 of the hardest hit areas find creative ways to use their empty shops and re-open them as facilities for communities.
Each council will receive a grant of more than £50,000 to use as they see fit on ideas to boost town centres and transform empty shops into something useful such as a meeting place, a learning centre or a even a showroom for local artists.
It seems the 57 areas to benefit have already been chosen and received the money. Most of them were up North or in the Midlands. Hastings, Thanet and Bristol were the only boroughs South that received the grant, which was the same figure for all 57 of £52,632. Don’t all dive for your calculators at once but it looks like the £3m has already been divvied up
The Government is determined to help ensure town centres remain vibrant places for people to meet and shop. John Denham is today providing £3m to help 57 of the hardest hit areas find creative ways to use their empty shops and re-open them as facilities for communities.
Each council will receive a grant of more than £50,000 to use as they see fit on ideas to boost town centres and transform empty shops into something useful such as a meeting place, a learning centre or a even a showroom for local artists.
It seems the 57 areas to benefit have already been chosen and received the money. Most of them were up North or in the Midlands. Hastings, Thanet and Bristol were the only boroughs South that received the grant, which was the same figure for all 57 of £52,632. Don’t all dive for your calculators at once but it looks like the £3m has already been divvied up
Interestingly, information from the town hall shows that Lewisham's level of vacant shop units currently stands at 12%. Experian (the economic forecasters) reckon that at any one time vacancy rates for UK shops average between 10-12% even when the economy is strong.
Lewisham will not benefit from the £3m grant because the level of vacant units is not high enough and this Government money will go elsewhere.
Within the core shopping centre of Sydenham (running from LA Fitness to the corner of Kent House Rd) there are fewer than 12% vacant units - and the landlords of many of the vacant shops are looking for very high rents (often £25k plus for a very small shop). Like people wishing to sell houses, the owners are waiting for the upturn in the economy coupled, locally, with the coming of the East London Line and improvements to the infrastructure and fabric of Sydenham Road.
Lewisham will not benefit from the £3m grant because the level of vacant units is not high enough and this Government money will go elsewhere.
Within the core shopping centre of Sydenham (running from LA Fitness to the corner of Kent House Rd) there are fewer than 12% vacant units - and the landlords of many of the vacant shops are looking for very high rents (often £25k plus for a very small shop). Like people wishing to sell houses, the owners are waiting for the upturn in the economy coupled, locally, with the coming of the East London Line and improvements to the infrastructure and fabric of Sydenham Road.
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Chris Best
- Posts: 439
- Joined: 6 May 2005 11:37
- Location: Sydenham
Just an update on this whilst catching up. Lewisham Council has received £52,000 from Central Government to tackle the effect of the recession in our town centres. This is not a signigicant amount for our town centres so the Council is looking to augment this with additional funds from the Mayor's Recession Fighting Fund. It is anticipated that a report will be presented to the Mayor and Cabinet in January which will include an additional £100,000 for physical improvements to the shopping areas.
As Chair of the Sydenham Town Centre Steering Group I will be working with the Sydenham Town Centre Manager (who has two days a week for Sydenham) as well as the Sydenham Traders Association, Sydenham Society and residents to prioritise the allocation of what will be a small sum for Sydenham. I hope we can agree this at the next Steering Group meeting on the 9 February and if you have ideas for small sums of money please let me know.
I am continuing to work with our local estate agents to remove their advertising boards in the shopping area of the high street as well as a number of actions such as graffiti removal.
Please click on the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79uZNt2RcEs for my festive message and scenes of Sydenham.
Cllr Chris Best
As Chair of the Sydenham Town Centre Steering Group I will be working with the Sydenham Town Centre Manager (who has two days a week for Sydenham) as well as the Sydenham Traders Association, Sydenham Society and residents to prioritise the allocation of what will be a small sum for Sydenham. I hope we can agree this at the next Steering Group meeting on the 9 February and if you have ideas for small sums of money please let me know.
I am continuing to work with our local estate agents to remove their advertising boards in the shopping area of the high street as well as a number of actions such as graffiti removal.
Please click on the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79uZNt2RcEs for my festive message and scenes of Sydenham.
Cllr Chris Best
Please please spend this money hiring a short-term salesperson to relentless promote Sydenham High Street as an investment possibility to large retailers / food / drinks chains (supported by marketing data on local rents, footfall etc, significant local investment etc).
For gods sake, don't shovel the money into the pockets of local landlords, who appear to have a desperately low ambition for what amounts to a desirable tenant (i.e. any old pound shop that pays the bills).
This high street will only be regenerated by the kinds of private sector money that Lewisham Council can only dream of. And spending money on art galleries or such nonsense will merely reduce local footfall still further.
For gods sake, don't shovel the money into the pockets of local landlords, who appear to have a desperately low ambition for what amounts to a desirable tenant (i.e. any old pound shop that pays the bills).
This high street will only be regenerated by the kinds of private sector money that Lewisham Council can only dream of. And spending money on art galleries or such nonsense will merely reduce local footfall still further.
In fact, seeing as I have a spare 20 minutes to kill, allow me to write your strategy document for you. Feel free to use my copyrighted stuff without further acknowledgement.
1) Get your communications team to create a four-page, emailable pdf marketing flyer promoting Sydenham High Street. No need to create a website – it’ll take forever, and eat up too much of the budget. Do NOT include details of any specific vacant properties available in the flyer, otherwise it will quickly go out of date. Estate agents flyers for specific vacant properties can be emailed or posted separately.
Page one: cover. An artists impression of the new high street, with a “Vision of Sydenham” headline or some such test. “A vibrant investment opportunity that’s going places”.
Inside double-page spread: Illustrations of other local investment taking place. East London Line, Thameslink. It doesn’t matter that these won’t be finished for a few years – investors will be working to similar time-frames.
If there’s room, illustrate with some asspirational local investors (Kente, Sugarhills, Dolphin etc). Also list other multiple retailers present. That gives potential investors a “feel” for the area. (but don’t breach copyright / trademark law by nicking company’s logos without permission – a list of names will suffice). Want to see more? Visit us on Google Streetview! (not all investment locations have this benefit).
Back-page. The data page. Key data that makes investors’ decisions easy. The town centre manager should know this type of stuff of the top of her head. Data could include:
Typical unit sizes available.
Typical rents.
Typical rates and service charges.
Local demographics.
Local footfall data, if available. If not, use local station traffic as an indicator of people throughput.
2) Get the town centre manager to locate all vacant units on the high street, and find out which estate agents are selling them. Contact the estate agents. Get them to sent 50 flyers for each vacant property to the town hall, explaining it’s for a marketing push on the high street. They will be grateful for the free publicity, and that they won’t have to spend money advertising the properties themselves.
3) Blow the entire grant budget hiring a salesperson on a short-term contract on a relatively low basic salary. And I mean salesperson, not marketing person (perhaps an out-of-work estate agent). Some who is comfortable cold-calling would be property investors, repeatedly. And someone who responds to commission based incentives. (£50 bonus for a “strong declaration of interest”, £200 for a site visit by a would-be investor; £1,000 for an actual letting).
Get the sales person to through the Yellow Pages, British Retail Consortium, whatever, and pick categories of potential investors. Pubs. Food chains. Stationers. Supermarkets etc. Doesn’t matter if there’s already one on the high street. We’re not in the business of protecting local monopolies.
One day per week, the sales person should spend their time coming up with a shortlist of 20 multiple retailers for each categories – ideally, the ones that are still expanding. They should spend the rest of the week cold calling them, and getting the personal contact details whoever makes new property investment decisions. Then call (not email) that person directly. Keep calling until the actually speak to them. Then follow up with either an email or a package flyer, sending both the brochure and possible property units that may be suitable. Then follow them up two weeks later, to see they have made a decision.
At the end of the sales person’s contract, their email address should be redirected to someone within Lewisham Council who call follow up on any declarations of interest.
That's its. Simple. Cheap. Focused.
1) Get your communications team to create a four-page, emailable pdf marketing flyer promoting Sydenham High Street. No need to create a website – it’ll take forever, and eat up too much of the budget. Do NOT include details of any specific vacant properties available in the flyer, otherwise it will quickly go out of date. Estate agents flyers for specific vacant properties can be emailed or posted separately.
Page one: cover. An artists impression of the new high street, with a “Vision of Sydenham” headline or some such test. “A vibrant investment opportunity that’s going places”.
Inside double-page spread: Illustrations of other local investment taking place. East London Line, Thameslink. It doesn’t matter that these won’t be finished for a few years – investors will be working to similar time-frames.
If there’s room, illustrate with some asspirational local investors (Kente, Sugarhills, Dolphin etc). Also list other multiple retailers present. That gives potential investors a “feel” for the area. (but don’t breach copyright / trademark law by nicking company’s logos without permission – a list of names will suffice). Want to see more? Visit us on Google Streetview! (not all investment locations have this benefit).
Back-page. The data page. Key data that makes investors’ decisions easy. The town centre manager should know this type of stuff of the top of her head. Data could include:
Typical unit sizes available.
Typical rents.
Typical rates and service charges.
Local demographics.
Local footfall data, if available. If not, use local station traffic as an indicator of people throughput.
2) Get the town centre manager to locate all vacant units on the high street, and find out which estate agents are selling them. Contact the estate agents. Get them to sent 50 flyers for each vacant property to the town hall, explaining it’s for a marketing push on the high street. They will be grateful for the free publicity, and that they won’t have to spend money advertising the properties themselves.
3) Blow the entire grant budget hiring a salesperson on a short-term contract on a relatively low basic salary. And I mean salesperson, not marketing person (perhaps an out-of-work estate agent). Some who is comfortable cold-calling would be property investors, repeatedly. And someone who responds to commission based incentives. (£50 bonus for a “strong declaration of interest”, £200 for a site visit by a would-be investor; £1,000 for an actual letting).
Get the sales person to through the Yellow Pages, British Retail Consortium, whatever, and pick categories of potential investors. Pubs. Food chains. Stationers. Supermarkets etc. Doesn’t matter if there’s already one on the high street. We’re not in the business of protecting local monopolies.
One day per week, the sales person should spend their time coming up with a shortlist of 20 multiple retailers for each categories – ideally, the ones that are still expanding. They should spend the rest of the week cold calling them, and getting the personal contact details whoever makes new property investment decisions. Then call (not email) that person directly. Keep calling until the actually speak to them. Then follow up with either an email or a package flyer, sending both the brochure and possible property units that may be suitable. Then follow them up two weeks later, to see they have made a decision.
At the end of the sales person’s contract, their email address should be redirected to someone within Lewisham Council who call follow up on any declarations of interest.
That's its. Simple. Cheap. Focused.
A quick question, does anyone know where there are details of the different floor areas of sites on the high street? Particularly compared to other places like a Penge/ Crystal Palace/Forest Hill/East Dulwich.
It may be on correct but I often feel that Sydenham has more very small properties. It may or may not be the case but it would be interesting to know.
If there is some comparable data recorded somewhere that show the rents being asked by land lords here against the other areas? Again it would perhaps help identify the real issues as I think we can get distracted by issues that appear to be a problem but without knowing where to get the accurate information causes lots of energy to be wasted on to issues that may not actually be a major problem.
I had previously thought that the vast numbers of estate agents in the prime properties near the station was squeezing out more convenience focused businesses (Deli’s etc). However the old George Proctor site has sat empty for some time so I think my assessment was wrong.
It may be on correct but I often feel that Sydenham has more very small properties. It may or may not be the case but it would be interesting to know.
If there is some comparable data recorded somewhere that show the rents being asked by land lords here against the other areas? Again it would perhaps help identify the real issues as I think we can get distracted by issues that appear to be a problem but without knowing where to get the accurate information causes lots of energy to be wasted on to issues that may not actually be a major problem.
I had previously thought that the vast numbers of estate agents in the prime properties near the station was squeezing out more convenience focused businesses (Deli’s etc). However the old George Proctor site has sat empty for some time so I think my assessment was wrong.
Sydenham High Street is torcher. There is something wrong with the traffic light settings, why is this road so difficult to drive through?
http://www.mywindpowersystem.com
http://www.mywindpowersystem.com