LONDON ROAD TRADER
LONDON ROAD PORTAS PILOT
@visitlondonroad
Issue 3
The London Road Portas Pilot project has been up and running for 5 months now with some really exciting projects already happening in the London Road area. The London Road Portas Pilot works on a number of projects to support business on the high street. We thought we would use this opportunity to give a project update. London Road Town Team One of the key recommendations from the Portas Review is the creation of Town Teams. Formed by local stakeholders and led by the private sector, Town Teams are intended to be the management structure that represents, directs and creates a high street of the future. The London Road Town Team manages the London Road Portas Pilot project and strategically plans a future for the area. Following last months successful ‘London Road Needs You’ meeting, the London Road Town Team has been put together and includes representation from independent retailers, multiple outlets, non retail businesses, landlords, business and community groups. Town Team members are all volunteers and work towards making the London Road area a safer, attractive and more economically vibrant place to live, work and shop. Anyone can attend meetings and the London Road Town Team would like to encourage more businesses to be involved. Town Team meetings take place on the 2nd Monday of each month at 6pm at the Emporium.
Marketing and branding The London Road Town Team has partnered with local design agency Osomi to help develop a new logo (left), brand and website for the area. The website is currently being built and features a full business directory and event calendar. Each business in the London Road area will have its own page and will have the opportunity to advertise special offers and news stories. Businesses will need to prepare photos, logos and a blurb (150 - 250 words) for the website. Information on how you can upload your businesses information will be distributed later this month. To launch the website www.visitlondonroad.co.uk the London Road Town Team will be producing a substantial marketing campaign called ‘Take a fresh look’ through print, radio and display advertising. ‘Take a fresh look’ aims to change the perception of London Road in the city and surrounding areas. Along with the marketing campaign the London Road Town Team has partnered up with Brighton University retail marketing course who are helping with press, social media and digital content. The London Road Town Team produce a weekly email bulletin and The London Road Trader, our business newsletter which aims to keep businesses in the loop. To signup to the weekly bulletin please email Portas Pilot co-ordinator joe.nichols@brightonportas.com you can also follow us on twitter @visitlondonroad.
Crime Reduction Crime has been a significant problem in the London Road area. Since the beginning of the project in July the London Road Portas Pilot has been working on a number of measures to reduce the effect of crime on businesses and the local community. Since July The London Road Portas Pilot has: • Employed Town Centre Liaison Officers to: Support businesses, submit intelligence, reduce theft, antisocial behaviour and improve the perception of safety for shoppers. • Worked closely with the Business Crime Reduction Partnership and its members to encourage increased use of the network and membership. • Worked with the LAT and Trading Standards on ‘Sensible on Strength’ - a reduction in the availability of high strength beer and cider across the London Road area. • Worked with local PCSO’s to share intelligence on known offenders • Worked with the Business Crime Reduction Partnership on individual exclusion notices. The London Road Town Team continues to work on crime reduction initiatives to support local business over the coming months. Research, Monitoring and data capture In order to strategically plan and manage resources, The London Road Town Team has partnered with the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM) to complete a number of different pieces of research. This research helps us to monitor the effectiveness of various projects and also allows us to benchmark ourselves against other town centres. This research includes: Operator Survey: This tells us how businesses on the street are performing, customer profiles and the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the area. Shopper Experience: This allows us to understand the customer experience of the area and how it can be improved. 50 businesses were selected at random and were tested in November. Town Centre Health Check: This allows us to gather opinions from customers, traders, local authority, business and community groups. Working with the ATCM and Costa (who have carried out face to face surveys), The Town Centre Health Checks ask for opinions on First Impressions, Shopping and Services, Security and Safety and Action, Activities and Marketing. Vacancy Surveys: These are a key indicator of how a high street is performing. Regular vacancy surveys allow the team to track the areas performance and compare to regional and nationals averages. Vacancy rates have continued to improve from 16% in 2012, 12% in July 2013 and 9% in October 2013. All of the research and data will be used to help the team plan for the future and direct future funds. Findings will also be published in a report for businesses to use as a tool to improve your own operation. Retail Training The London Road Town Team has partnered up with Metamorphosis group and Brighton and Hove City Council for the annual city wide Dressed for Success window dressing competition with 5 businesses in the London Road area taking part. The team will also be working with Metamorphosis in the new year for a retail training programme. Partnership Working The London Road Town Team and Portas Pilot project continues to work with; Brighton & Hove City Council, Department for Communities and Local Government, Association of Town and City Management, City College, Brighton University, Brighton’s Business Improvement District, NCP, Juice FM, Open Market, City Clean, Business Crime Reduction Partnership, Sussex Police, Watkin Jones, Business Cost Reduction Associates, London Road Local Action Team, Visit Brighton, Graves Jenkins, Metamorphosis Group, We Are Pop Up, Brighton & Hove Food Partnership, SameSky, Resolve Security, local landlords and over 230 businesses in the Portas Pilot area.
Where we cover?
NEW Biz! 2013 was a great year for new businesses opening up in the London Road area. The vacancy rate has improved from 16% in 2012 to 9% in 2013 proving London Road is still as popular as ever for new business. Check out just some of the businesses which opened in 2013.
We cover Brighton’s Northern Quarter supporting retail businesses on the high street. Focusing on London Road the project also incorporates the surrounding areas.
HiSbe 20-21 York Place @hiSbe_Food Nordic Coffee Collective 16 York Place @NordicCoffeeBtn Cycle Wand 83 Ditchling Road MEAT Liquor 22 – 23 York Place @MEATliquorBTN Metropolis Cafe 50 Preston Road The Specky Wren 1-2 Marshalls Row @thespeckywren Emporium 88 London Rd @EmporiumBton Shanti Haus 32 Preston Road Level Skateboards 35 Ditchling Road FREE One Day Customer Service Course City College Brighton and Hove is the largest provider of vocational training in the City, and is located just off London Road in Pelham Street. Throughout January and February, we are offering FREE one day customer service courses to people employed in local businesses. To participate, individuals must be working for more than eight hours per week (either paid or voluntary), be aged 19+ and not have any qualifications at a higher level than GCSEs/Level 2. This is a great opportunity for your business to motivate staff, improve customer satisfaction and increase revenues. To find out more, contact Katy Balmer on KM1@ccb.ac.uk or 01273 667788 x 405. Find out more about City College at www.ccb.ac.uk 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 4th February at 18.15. 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.
Special Offers and Business Support Working with our partners in the Business Improvement District in Brighton’s City Centre, the Town Team work towards reducing business costs, negotiating special offers and improving services. This includes work with NCP, Juice FM, Visit Brighton, Business Cost Reduction Associates, City Clean and Paper Round. 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. If you have specific cleaning issues you can report problems on the Brighton & Hive City Council website http://www.brightonhove.gov.uk. Website & Brand Development The London Road Town Team has appointed local design agency Osomi to develop a new website, logo and marketing material for the London Road area. This will be rolled out from the beginning of December. 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. Business Crime Reduction Partnership The Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) works with Sussex Police, Brighton & Hove City Council and other agencies to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. 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. For more information, contact the BCRP team on 01273 733 393.
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Join VisitBrighton’s Partnership Scheme – London Road Special Offer! Visitbrighton is the official tourism organisation for Brighton & Hove; we promote the city to a wide national and international audience and are very excited to be working with the London Road Town Team to attract visitors to the thriving London Road area. Your business can benefit from joining the VisitBrighton Partnership Scheme. The scheme gives you your own dedicated page on www.visitbrighton.com (2 million unique visitors a year), a listing on our App (20,000 downloads so far), promotion of your special offers, cross promotion to other VisitBrighton Partners, potential media coverage, invitations to networking events and much more
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Join up before Christmas for only £50 (plus VAT), giving you all the benefits until 31st March 2014. You then have the option to renew your Partnership for a full year from April 1st, details will be available in the New Year. For more information contact partnership@visitbrighton.com or call Richard Pearson on 01273 292621. Find out more at www.visitbrighton.com/partners.