LONDON ROAD TRADER
LONDON ROAD PORTAS PILOT Issue 2
London Road - The Place To be The London Road area is proving the place to be, along with the redevelopment of the Open Market and Co-op a number of new businesses have chosen to locate to the area and open up shop. Since the beginning of the London Road Portas Pilot we’ve seen 6 new businesses open in just 8 weeks, with more set to open over the coming months, ensuring our ‘New Biz’ section will remain full! Vacancy rates for the area have fallen from 16% in 2012 to 9% in 2013. A number of different projects have been kick started including on-street security, pop up shops, retail training, events, marketing and business support. London Road - Health Check Working with the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM), the London Road Town Team is doing a number of different pieces of research to help understand the London Road area. This includes operator surveys completed by shop management, mystery shopping program and a Town Centre Health Check questionnaire completed by the public. Compiled together, this research will really help understand the area and help us to plan strategically for the future. We hope to publish the data towards the end of the year. London Road - Standing Up To Crime Following on from meetings with the London Road Traders Association the business community has decided to take a stronger stance on crime and antisocial behaviour. A new zero tolerance approach is being championed. We’re asking businesses to take a more pro-active approach to reporting crime and anti-social behaviour. You should call 101 to report crime and any other concerns that do not require an emergency response. Accurate reporting will help the police allocate resources in the area. City College – Work Place Learning The London Road Portas Pilot has partnered up with City College which is offering retail training through the work place learning scheme. If you or any member of your team is interested in gaining a Level 2 certificate in Customer Service and has less than 5 GCSE’s then you qualify for the free training programme. For more information please contact Portas Pilot Manager Joe Nichols - joe.nichols@brightonportas.com Christmas Lights - Co-op Development Christmas on London Road is set to be brighter this year with Co-op developers Watkin Jones agreeing to erect Christmas lights on the scaffolding frontage of the former Co-op building. The London Road Town Team would like to thank Kara and her team at Watkin Jones, John from Johns Camping (it was his idea!) and the London Road Traders Association for there support. Store Defibrillators The Business Crime Reduction Partnership and the Crime Prevention Officer from Sussex Police would like to know, if possible, which stores hold defibrillators that can be used in an emergency. The purpose of this request is so we can make both the on street security and the local police community support officers aware so they can be signposted to the nearest store to get one if necessary. Please email the BCRP lisa.perretta@bcrpbrighton.com
LONDON ROAD NEEDS
London Road Town Team The London Road Portas Pilot is now up and running with some exciting projects and events in the pipeline. The London Road Town Team was brought together by Brighton & Hove City Council to support the bid for Portas funding. It’s now time for the London Road business community to take the lead on the Portas Project and start planning the strategic vision for the future. There will be a public meeting held 7pm on Monday 4th November to begin the process of formalising the Town Team for the future and we would welcome all members of the business community to attend. We’re looking for business leaders who are committed, ambitious and visionary to join the London Road Town Team. For more information please contact Portas Pilot Co-ordinator Joe Nichols; Joe.nichols@brightonportas.com
YOU London Road Town Centre Liaison Officers During September the London Road Town Team have been trialling the use of Town Centre Liaison Officers. Our Liaison Officers have been working 3 days a week and are there to provide additional support for businesses in case of theft, problems with anti-social behaviour and general assistance to the public. During this trial period our Town Centre Liaison Officers have assisted police with arrests, provided crucial pieces of intelligence and first aid. The London Road Town Team has decided to extend this trial for another 4 weeks whilst more data is collected. If you have any thoughts or comments please contact Portas Pilot Co-ordinator Joe Nichols joe.nichols@brightonportas.com
London Road Area Local Action Team (LAT) The London Road Area LAT is in the St Peters and North Laine ward, and covers the northern end of the ward. Meetings are currently held at the Calvary Church on Viaduct Road (next to the fire station), the next meeting is on the 29th October at 6.15pm. Meetings are attended by ward councillors, the neighbourhood policing team, council officers, community representatives, local residents and traders. Meetings are open to anyone living and/ or working in the area and work towards public realm improvements and crime reduction. The LAT is chaired by local resident Philip Wells. You can find out more information on their website londonroadlat.wordpress.com Exciting opportunities for business at Brighton Open Market! Re-opening this autumn, the newly refurbished Brighton Open Market will provide an outstanding modern day market promoting fresh, healthy food and providing a platform for local producers. The expanded site also offers affordable housing, a hub for arts based crafts and a venue for street art and entertainment. Over half the market units have already been allocated, but the market team is still keen to hear from anyone who would like to apply for a space at the Market – there are spaces suitable for both start up and established businesses! The market offers both permanent market units and daily hire market stalls. The units vary in size from 120 sq ft to 430 sq ft. Whatever your requirements, there is something to suit. Traders with a particular emphasis on local, fair trade, free range and organic produce, and other goods that demonstrate a considerate approach to the environment will be prioritised. If you’d like to find out more about the opportunities on offer visit www.brightonopenmarket.co.uk
New Biz!
With the redevelopment of the new Open Market and Coop, London Road has become a hive of new business activity with new shops, restaurants, cafes, salons and now, we can add opticians to the list. The Specky Wren (next to the open market) has opened its doors and offers a range of stylish and affordable frames. Run by an incredibly enthusiastic pair, David and Marco said “We are proud to help kick-start the London Road revival with a new type of opticians which is independent, stylish and affordable. You can find The Specky Wren at the entrance to the Open Market on London Road.
@thespeckywren Web thespeckywren.co.uk The Specky Wren MEATliquor at the seaside Founders of the infamous MEATliquor open Brighton location. MEATliquor Brighton has opened the doors to its first ever permanent residence outside London. The sea-scape eatery dressed with a bucket-full of Brighton’s unique charm, brings a taste of the capital to the seaside city. Alongside other fodder, including the Dead Hippie burger and Chilli Cheese fries, MEATliquor Brighton will also be serving up a range of new dishes using local fish and seafood, including a ‘catch of the day’ fish sandwich, and a whole manner of shrimp dishes, served with buckets of @MEATliquor ice-cold beer, whiskies for all tastes and a few cheeky cocktails including the Red Snapper Web meatliquor.com/brighton crafted by Soulshakers, naturally… The new restaurant designed by interior architects Shed, draws inspiration from Brighton's lurid history, bringing all the controlled anarchy of its London sites to the seaside city. Living and breathing its surroundings, patterns are rife throughout, fantastical illustrations and obscure seaside personas bring the restaurant to life with neon flamingos entertaining all who eat. Co-founder Yianni Papoutsis, said: “Scott and I both love Brighton and the creativity of the people in the area. We’ve been really inspired, working with everyone from the Brighton-based Fishtail Neon Studios to the local producers to create a restaurant we feel proud of. Both geographically and demographically, the membrane between London and Brighton is very permeable, making it the ideal place to branch out from London.” MEATliquor Brighton, 22-23 York Place, Brighton, BN1 4GU. Opening hours: Wednesday – Sunday*, 12noon – 11:30pm** *Open 7 days a week early November**Kitchen closes on hour prior
Street Cleaning The London Portas Pilot has come to a deal with City Clean to deliver enhanced cleansing in the London Road area including pavement jet washing in the Autumn. If you have specific cleaning issues you can report problems on the Brighton & Hove City Council website www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/ Website & Brand Development The London Road Town Team has appointed local design agency Osomi to develop a new website for the London Road area which will feature a full business directory, events section, news & features and general information. The first phase of the website is expected to be finished by the end of October NCP Parking Deal London Road Town Team has partnered with NCP. NCP has agreed to support the London Road Portas Pilot by offering a greatly reduced parking deal for local retailers. NCP is offering a massive 84% discount on the normal daily tariff for their North Street car park in Brighton. NCP is offering all day parking Mon - Fri for £4 to all traders in London Road. To find out more please contact joe.nichols@brightonportas.com Juice FM offer 40% off! Juice 107.2 is Brighton’s only local radio station playing a mix of contemporary music as well as specialist shows. It prides itself on being local and is a great vehicle to promote your business. For £200 per month you get 3 x 20” spots every other day 7am to 7pm for 6 months with commercial production included (usually £250). Juice will also run a week long competition totally free of charge in peak time (week TBC); to qualify you will need to provide 5 x £50 prizes (or equivalent) to give away. E-mail Pippa@juicebrighton.com for more details. Get Involved There are loads of ways that you can get involved. If you have any ideas on how to improve LONDON ROAD the area or have any particular issues you would like to discuss then don’t hesitate to get in PORTAS PILOT touch. joe.nichols@brightonportas.com
Worried about crime and anti-social behaviour affecting your business? T h e B u s i n e s s C r i m e Re d u c t i o n Partnership can help you now! The Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) works with Sussex Police, Brighton & Hove City Council and other agencies to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and make Brighton & Hove a safer place. The BCRP: • Operates a radio network with over 450 handsets across the city • Collates incident reports from members on the activity of known offenders • Provides access to Sussex Police photos and intelligence on known offenders on a secure intranet • Operates an exclusion scheme banning persistent offenders from over 400 premises in the city • Provides free crime prevention training for members A radio handset supplied as part of BCRP membership connects members to each other, Sussex Police and the BCRP team. Membership of the scheme including a radio costs £8.00 per week plus VAT. As a member of the BCRP your business will benefit from reduced levels of crime and anti-social behaviour in or near your premises. The partnership is a non-profit making group. All funds are used for administration of the various schemes or projects, radios and Home Office Radio Licences. For more information, contact the BCRP team on 01273 733 393.
Thanks The London Road Portas Pilot would like to thank The Print Shop for their continued support.
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