EALING BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP (EBP)

Transcription

1 EALING BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP (EBP) Thursday 26 th November 2015 at 7:00pm PRESENT: Independent Members: Geoff Langston (Independent Chair) Ealing Councillors: Councillors Bell, Aslam, Seema Kumar and Greg Stafford Representatives of local business/organisations: Gita V Langston (Arizion), Julian Smith (Living Partnerships), Sukhdev Sagoo (Sagoo & Co), Michael Greer (PR), Lydia Belingy-Mark (Home Instead Senior Care), Chris Ttouli (Handelsbanken), Rached Slimani (The Doughnut Factory/The Collective), Phillippe Castaing (The Doughnut Factory/The Collective), Peter Smith (The Ealing Broadway Bid), John Goldsmith (Crossrail), Peter Farnham (OPDC), Ann Watson (Universal Beauty), Jessica Rose, Jags Sanghera Council Officers: Andrea Laffey (Regeneration Project Manager, Economic Regeneration Team), Joseph Anstee (Democratic Services Officer) Also Present: Councillor Manro. 1. Introduction & Welcome Geoff Langston (Independent Chair) welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited everyone attending to introduce themselves and tell the meeting about their business interests. 2. Apologies for Absence Apologies were received from Councillors Johnson and Ahmed-Shaikh, Mahantra Shrestha and Garry Phillips. 3. Urgent Matters 4. Matters to be Considered in Private 5. Declarations of Interest 6. Minutes of the Last Meeting and Matters Arising RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 30 th June 2015 be agreed as a true and correct record. signature at the next meeting of this Committee. Page 1

2 7. Update on Matters of Interest Around Ealing Andrea Laffey (Regeneration Project Manager, Economic Regeneration Team) introduced this item. The Ealing Business Expo had taken place the previous week, and was a success. Officers had worked with local traders to put on the event, which had given start-up companies, small and medium-sized enterprises and the selfemployed to advertise their business and gain interest and publicity. A number of seminars were held as part of the Business Expo, offering an insight into the support available to businesses in the Borough. Officers were still collecting formal feedback about the event but the initial feedback was very positive. The Ealing Business Survey had just opened online, and Andrea Laffey invited everyone attending to complete the survey, which she would circulate after the meeting. The survey was being promoted on the Council website, via a postal mail-out and an electronic mail-out to the Regeneration Team s database. Officers had also conducted face-to-face surveys with business owners in Acton, and were running a social media campaign to advertise the survey. As an incentive to complete the survey, there was a prize draw on offer, with prizes including free advertising space in Inside Ealing, shopping vouchers, and refuse sacks worth 150. The Council was coming to the end of its 100 in 100 apprenticeships campaign, running from 1 st September 2015 to 9 th December The campaign aimed to create 100 apprenticeships in the Borough in 100 days. The campaign had been a success and had already surpassed the target of 100 apprenticeships, with 141 apprenticeships created with 14 days of the campaign still to go. The Council had also achieved its individual target and was recruiting 17 new apprentices. The Council had been successful in its pursuit of a Compulsory Purchase Order for the Ealing Cinema site, and planning was underway. Construction was scheduled for late 2016, and the site was scheduled to open in Proposals for redevelopment of Ealing Town Hall were currently being received. The aim was to make better use of the space and generate more income for the Council by renting out the middle section of the Town Hall and refurbishing the wings. Officers were currently working with local groups in order to find alternative accommodation for the Council during the redevelopment work. There were also 2 GLA-funded projects currently going on in the Borough, including improvements and increased business support around Acton High Street Hot Topic The Future of Business in Ealing Geoff Langston introduced this item. The hot topic for this meeting involved three speakers, each giving presentations and answering questions from attendees around aspects of the future of business in Ealing. Geoff Langston introduced the speakers; Councillor Julian Bell, Leader of Ealing Council, Peter Farnham of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC), and John Goldsmith of Crossrail Ltd. Councillor Bell gave a presentation to the Ealing Business Partnership about the current issues regarding business in Ealing and an overview of future projects and developments. As the Borough s largest employer, the Council generated a lot of business activity in Ealing. The Council was currently facing financial challenges, needing to cut 205m from its budget between 2010 and In response to this challenge, the Council had reviewed every service to ensure it is providing value for signature at the next meeting of this Committee. Page 2

3 money and is maximising income generation. The Cabinet that week had approved a further 15.2m of savings, including cuts for areas previously protected. The Council had, and would continue to consult widely, including with businesses, with those likely to be affected. The government had announced that grants for Councils would be phased out in the years up to 2020, and Ealing Council would eventually retain 100% of the business rates it collected. The Council s retention of business rates would mean a need for even closer working with local employers on how to deliver growth. The Ealing Cinema site had been secured for a major development that would provide a whole new part of Ealing. The complex was planned to include a 1000-seat cinema, a public square, pubs, cafés, bars and homes. The Council had just gone to market for a developer partner for the Town Hall and there were also plans to redevelop Perceval House. The population of Ealing was growing consistently, currently at around 350,000 and expected to grow to 400,000 by 2030, and this would provide a bigger market for business in Ealing. The 5 Crossrail stations planned in Ealing would provide huge potential and opportunities for businesses in Ealing, particularly in Ealing Broadway and Southall. Ealing and West London would eventually become one of the most connected places for public transport, becoming like an inner-london Borough for travel times. There were a lot of positives in the future of business in Ealing, although the downside was that property prices would go up. More than 25% of jobs in Ealing were classified as low-paid and the Council wanted to incentivise better pay for Ealing residents. The Council was one of two Ealing employers registered as a living wage employer. The Council wanted to encourage both employers who are already eligible to become registered with the Living Wage Foundation, as well as employers currently below the living wage to raise the salaries of the lowest paid. The Council intended to offer business rate relief to registered living wage employers, as part of a wider package of incentives to encourage better pay in the Borough. Peter Farnham gave a presentation to the Ealing Business Partnership about OPDC, which was primarily a new local Planning authority, with some development management powers, developing its own local plan, comparable to the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC). OPDC was focussed on enhancing the Old Oak, Park Royal and Wormwood Scrubs areas. There were plans for regeneration centred around HS2, Crossrail and the new London Overground transport services. In Old Oak, there were plans for 25,000 new homes and new services and facilities like parks, schools and canal improvements. It was hoped around 65,000 jobs would also be created. OPDC also wanted to enhance the industrial area of Park Royal, and enhance the transport connections around Wormwood Scrubs. OPDC wanted to generate good business services and relations with businesses, and had done research and consultation work with business groups, as well as the Highway Authority and TfL. The development timeframes were between 20 and 30 years. OPDC supported growth and had a growing Regeneration team that was strategising, wanting a specific vision and business plan. OPDC planned to help relocate any current businesses and would provide meanwhile and temporary staff. There would be processes set up to involve the local communities in the developments, through training and upscaling schemes, planning and construction agreements, and work with local schools, colleges and signature at the next meeting of this Committee. Page 3

4 universities. Development was due to start around 2019/20, and OPDC would have all of their strategies worked out in the next year or two. John Goldsmith gave a presentation to the Ealing Business Partnership about Crossrail, updating attendees on the project s progress and outlining the plans for Crossrail. The Crossrail network was mostly along existing lines which Crossrail had improved, with some new track and new tunnels through the centre of London. The local route was fairly well-known and Ealing was one of only two London Boroughs to have 5 Crossrail stations; at Acton Main Line, Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell and Southall. The benefits of Crossrail would include better connectivity, new trains with space for up to 1500 people, better reliability and a commitment to improved maintenance, together with the electrification of the line which also benefited Great Western services. Crossrail will interchange with the London Underground in numerous places, providing users with many new options. Crossrail s tunnels were currently being fitted out. Construction was nearly complete on a dive-under at Acton that would stop Crossrail trains being held up by freight trains, and Crossrail had also built a flyover at Stockley to help trains coming out of Heathrow. Crossrail would also improve many stations, adding platforms and lifts. New entrances were to be built at Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Acton Main Line and Southall stations, whilst Hanwell would retain most of its features at the request of local residents. Journey times from Ealing stations to other parts of London would be much quicker, with a journey from Southall to Liverpool Street taking 24 minutes. The first glimpses of the new Crossrail trains could be expected around May West London and Ealing trains to Heathrow were expected by May 2018, the remaining parts of the Crossrail route were planned to open in stages from December 2018, with all routes expected to be operational by December Crossrail was working with Network Rail and First Great Western to improve safety, and were very conscious of the issue in Ealing following recent accidents, and were in discussions about possible improvements. It was important to remember that Crossrail was intended to complement London Underground and Overground rather than replace them. Those who did not use Crossrail could still benefit from it, for example through increased space on the Underground. Crossrail ticketing would be run by TfL and would all be integrated into the Oyster and Zonal map systems. Geoff Langston led a vote of thanks from the Ealing Business Partnership to Councillor Julian Bell, Peter Farnham and John Goldsmith for their excellent presentations, and for answering questions and leading the discussions, and to attendees and officers. The next meeting of the Ealing Business Partnership would focus on the Budget, in February Date of the Next Meeting The next meeting of Ealing Business Partnership was scheduled for Wednesday 10 th February signature at the next meeting of this Committee. Page 4

5 The meeting finished at 8:35pm. Geoff Langston, Independent Chair signature at the next meeting of this Committee. Page 5