DECISION

1. To agree the action plan in response to the review recommendations.

Action by:

DIRECTOR, DEVELOPMENT AND RENEWAL (A. DALVI)

Councillor Joshua Peck, Cabinet Member for Work and Economic Growth, introduced the report. He highlighted the important role that Town Centres play in being a place where communities could come together. He stated that he thought some of the timescales in the action plan could be more ambitious and he would continue to review them with officers.

The Mayor agreed the recommendation as set out in the report.

RESOLVED

1. To agree the action plan in response to the review recommendations.

The Committee received a report that the outlined the recommendations for supporting the delivery of successful town centres (high streets and markets)   It was noted that it is widely recognised that town centres, high streets and markets are vital in supporting opportunities in employment, social capital and economic growth in the area. However, there are many challenges facing town centres including changes in the way people shop, changes in the population demographic, strategic competition and national legislation.  In addition, the population demographic of people who live and work in the borough has changed over recent years, becoming more ethnically diverse with more households with an income of above £60,000.  Therefore evolving the offer and encouraging new businesses which can capitalise on the needs of new consumers is an essential part of ensuring town centres can thrive.  The main points of the discussion may be summarised as follows.

The Committee:

• Wanted to be advised on what work was being undertaken in the new growth areas and felt that it was important to focus upon development of a “sense of place” in the high roads, high streets and identifiable town or village centres of Tower Hamlets.  In addition, that the recommendations contained within the report should be used to inform the future evolution of the Local Development Framework. 
• Heard that the development of a Business Improvement District (BID), where local businesses in a location vote to invest collectively to improve their environment, was being investigated as an option for Shoreditch.
• Heard that once the review was agreed, it would be submitted to Cabinet with an action plan for approval.
• Heard that the Director and his team are working to build the recommendations contained within into the Local Development Framework which itself will be subjected to further scrutiny.

Accordingly, the Committee

RESOLVED to:

Agree the draft report and the recommendations contained in it;

Request that the report be submitted directly to the Mayor, the chair of the Development and Strategic Development Committees, and Cllr Dave Chesterton, in advance of the action plan’s development and approval; and

Authorise the Service Head for Strategy & Equality to amend the draft report before submission to Cabinet, after consultation with the Scrutiny Review Group.