In Contact Summer 2016 by MattandNikki

In Contact Summer 2016

Our future vision for Croydon Ensure the good work continues

The pace of development taking place in Croydon town centre is becoming steadily apparent for all to see and with £5.2 billion worth of investment planned here over the next five years, the further changes that have yet to come will be on a scale not experienced since the 1960s. The end result will be truly transformational with the creation of what’s promised to be “the best and most modern retail and leisure destination in London”, over 8,000 new homes, eight new hotels and up to 2.8 million square feet of office space. Without doubt, the prospects for Croydon’s future growth and prosperity look brighter than ever. Change on such a massive scale brings with it enormous opportunities. It also brings its own challenges, however. Before the town centre is able to realise its ambition of being one of the premier destinations in south London in which to work, live and do business, it is important to acknowledge that a significant and lengthy period of upheaval is likely to be experienced over the next few years. To find out what businesses feel the future priorities for Croydon town centre should be over the next five years and, more specifically, how Croydon BID can support them throughout the re-development period, we embarked on an extensive period of consultation with all of our levy payers in February. Face to face meetings and qualitative and quantitative research was commissioned to capture the views and suggestions of businesses and employees over what projects and services they would like to see delivered over the next five years.

The feedback was important for us to gauge how businesses would like to see Croydon town centre shape up in the future. It was also essential in helping us to determine our plans for a third BID term.

What you told us:

Compared with five years ago, businesses felt that all aspects of the town centre targeted for attention by the BID had much or slightly improved and two-thirds of businesses felt that our current priorities should not change in future, with all aspects being rated as high or medium priority. Improvements over the past five years:

“The future challenges and oppor tunities that will be faced as a result of re-development are both exciting and immense and, assuming Croydon BID is successful at the ballot this autumn, our aim will be to fully suppor t businesses throughout that period of change, as well as continuing to make a real difference to the town centre. “We value all of the comments and feedback that we’ve received throughout our consultations. After taking all of this on board, our aim in September will be to present the strongest case possible to businesses for continuing with the good work and ensuring a third BID term in order to achieve our shared ambitions,” Mr Sims concluded.

Priorities for the next five years:

As well as continuing with our current projects and services, businesses also told us that over the next five years, initiatives to enhance people’s experience of the town centre as well as those that would help brighten up the appearance of hoardings and prominent spaces would be impor tant. Suppor t for the reduction in business costs through the joint procurement of services is also considered impor tant. Commenting on the consultation findings, Croydon BID chief executive Matthew Sims said:

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“Croydon BID is proud to be at the hear t of many of the changes taking place and planned in Croydon town centre, as well as those that have occurred over the past ten years and it’s enormously gratifying to learn from independent research that businesses really appreciate the value that the BID adds here.

Croydon BID’s Renewal Proposal 2017-2022 will be published in September and will form the basis on which all eligible businesses within the Croydon BID area will be invited in October, to vote in favour of Croydon BID continuing for a fur ther five years. Without the suppor t of businesses and a majority ‘yes’ vote at the ballot, all of the projects and services that Croydon BID currently delivers will end on March 31st 2017.

Email: info@croydonbid.com

Street LIVE! gets Croydon buzzing this summer While many people were still eagerly awaiting the first signs of summer, Croydon BID began serving up a scorching series of outdoor events in June, heralding the start of a muchanticipated sizzling holiday season. Our Street LIVE! entertainment programme moved up several gears throughout June, July and August, delivering a host of free family-oriented events that were designed to entertain, inspire and enthral audiences and to coincide with some of the biggest sporting events around. The fun and games kicked off on June 4th when the fearless ‘3Sixty’ Stunt Bike team arrived in town, with their own thrilling brand of enter tainment.

Photo courtesy of CR2 Magazine

Blazing a trail along Nor th End, the intrepid team of stunt cyclists dazzled visitors with their awe-inspiring balancing skills and gravity-defying antics, while those who could only ever dream of making such moves looked on.

The high-octane entertainment was laid on by Croydon BID as a precursor to its support for the Pearl Izumi Professional Cycle Tour which returned to Croydon for the second successive year on June 7th, and once again succeeded in putting the town firmly in the world’s media spotlight (see opposite page for more details). Later on in June, we helped the 2016 Croydon Heritage Festival get off to a flying start through our sponsorship of Croydon Heritage Day, on June 18th. Organised by the Whitgift Foundation, the event provided a full day of free entertainment, street theatre, advice, information, tours and workshops, showcasing some of Croydon’s

best musical talent and highlighting much of ‘Undiscovered Croydon’ (see below for more details). June 27th saw the welcome return of giant outdoor screen entertainment in Croydon when Platform Ruskin Square’s Summer Screen began showing live action from the prestigious Wimbledon lawn tennis tournament, courtesy of sponsorship from Croydon BID. The big screen was in place throughout the tennis championships and provided spectators with the perfect opportunity to sit back and watch the world’s top players battling it out, over a glass of Pimm’s and strawberries and cream. To promote the screen’s arrival in town and encourage as many people as possible to take advantage of the opportunity to watch their sporting heroes in action, we brought a daring pair of tennis ‘aces’ into town on

Heritage festival gets off to a flying start This year’s Croydon Heritage Festival got off to a flying start on Saturday, June 18th when Croydon Heritage Day took over the town centre, providing a packed programme of free family entertainment that commemorated ‘Undiscovered Croydon’. The sounds of music filled the air from 11am onwards, as some of Croydon’s most talented vocalists, musicians and dancers took to the stage to entertain the crowds of shoppers and visitors in North End, ably supported by roving street

performers and balloon modellers who provided memorable photo opportunities throughout the day.

sponsored this year’s Heritage Day event.

Walking tours, talks and workshops were also included in the schedule giving visitors the chance to find out little known facts and learn more about Croydon’s history. The community-led event, which is organised annually by the Whitgift Foundation, also featured around 30 stalls, manned by local community groups and charities promoting a wide range of interests from football, beer and outdoor pursuits to crocuses, jewellery, history and art.

“North End was vibrant and it was brilliant to see so many people enjoying themselves, as well as showcasing some of Croydon’s most talented performers, charities, societies and community organisations. A dynamic and busy town centre is important to Croydon’s businesses, residents and visitors and Croydon BID was thrilled to help make that happen.”

Commenting on the event, Croydon BID chief executive Matthew Sims said: “We were delighted to have

Martin Corney, chief executive of the Whitgift Foundation added: “Each year we put on the Croydon

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July 2nd, who had Nor th End shoppers and visitors transfixed with their ‘highly strung’ performances. The wild and whacky duo – aka ‘Anyone for Tennis’ - showed spectators how to smash,

slice and v o l l e y their way to tennis victory during a series of hilarious ‘one set’ spoof performances, complete with slow motion replays, trick shots and heated line calls – all involving members of the public. The screening of some of this year’s biggest sporting events was set to continue as this edition of ‘In Croydon’ went to press, with live action from the 2016 Rio Olympics

being shown on the Platform Summer Screen between noon and 8pm from August 5th – 21st. For fur ther details visit www.croydonbid.com. Commenting on the BID’s summer events programme, Shaun Webster, head of operations said: “We are delighted not only to have been able to show live action from some of this summer’s biggest sporting events at Platform, but also to have supported the delivery of a fantastic range of community-based activity as well as some offthe-wall entertainment, giving people even more reason to come into town and soak up the lively atmosphere.”

Creating a biking legacy in Croydon Croydon once again became the focus of the world’s sporting media on June 7th when the Pearl Izumi Cycling Tour Series hit town for the second successive year.

Heritage Festival, we are astounded at the many new and surprising tales we uncover about Croydon, and the continual commitment and energy of people to take part in it and make it such a success. The Foundation is proud to be part of Croydon’s regeneration as well as its distinguished history – both of which are well worth celebrating.”

The men’s Pearl Izumi Tour Series and the women’s Matrix Fitness Grand Prix Series saw some of the UK’s top elite cyclists blast their way around the town centre circuit, passing the familiar landmarks of the Town Hall, Croydon Clocktower and Surrey Street Market, as they took part in the only London leg of this series of professional road races. Cheering spectators filled the route and restaurants and pubs around the course kept hunger and thirst at bay, while live music courtesy of Croydon

BID and the Beats and Eats collective kept people entertained between the cycling action. Demonstrations and a host of community-based activities were also staged ahead of the professional events, with the aim of promoting cycling in Croydon and encouraging healthy living. Activities included a race along part of the track for primary school children, opportunities for disabled riders to try out a range of two, three and four wheeled cycles and a charity relay race around the whole track, in which

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teams of amateur cyclists including one from Croydon BID, took part. The race which was organised by Croydon Commitment, raised just under £4,000 in support of the Mayor’s chosen charities. “Cycling is both immensely popular and a great spectacle to watch at a professional level,” said Councillor

Timothy G o d f r e y, c a b i n e t member for culture, leisure and spor t. “It was hugely exciting to see some of the UK’s top cyclists racing around the streets of Croydon and once again showcasing the town as an ideal venue for sports, arts and cultural events.”

Email: info@croydonbid.com

Free security workshops get under way A brand new series of crime prevention workshops and training seminars got under way in July, led jointly by the Metropolitan Police and the BID-funded, Croydon Business Crime Reduction Partnership (CBCP). The overarching aim is to provide individual businesses with the information, advice and tools they need to deter and reduce crime and safeguard the interests of their staff, customers and assets.

On July 6th, representatives from the retail, hotel and security sectors heard speakers from the Met Police’s counter terrorism focus desk highlight the importance of being prepared and having the appropriate plans and security measures in place in order to protect their businesses from potential terrorist activity. Dealing with suspect packages, hostile behaviour and reporting suspicious activity were amongst the many topics covered, along with information about the benefits of membership of the Croydon Community Security Zone. “The purpose of these events is to increase people’s feelings of safety

and security in the town centre by encouraging and enabling the business community to work together with the Police to deter and detect criminal and terrorist activity,” said Jamie Endrizzi, Croydon BID’s business crime reduction manager. Tailored crime prevention training workshops, delivered in conjunction with the town centre police team, have already been rolled out on behalf of several big name brands in the town centre. With sessions for 15 or more employees, the workshops are targeted at supporting crime reduction within a business and

equipping staff with the skills and knowledge to deter and detect criminal behaviour. “We’re really keen to develop these further and would be happy to hear from anyone who might be interested in finding out how we can help support their business,” added Jamie. To find out more email Jamie. endrizzi@croydonbid.com or call 020 8603 0054.

Croydon BID awarded industry accreditation Croydon BID has been awarded an Industry Standard Accreditation by British BIDs, the professional industry body focused entirely on Business Improvement Districts. Croydon BID is among only 9% of the UK’s 200 business improvement districts that have achieved this award, after receiving 91% in the independently verified audit.

The endorsement underlines the added value that the BID has brought to Croydon town centre since it was first formed in 2007 and serves to highlight the quality of services it delivers on behalf of the 580 businesses that it represents.

Specifically, the accreditation provides evidence of quality management and return on investment through service delivery. Focus is placed upon transparency, accountability, financial management and member engagement within BIDs. Commenting on the award, Matthew Sims, Croydon BID chief executive said:

“We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this status. The Croydon BID team works hard to achieve and maintain the highest standards and this award recognises the excellent systems and back office work that is put in to achieve that. It is also an illustration of our commitment to ensure our levy payers continue to receive value for money and provides an assurance to our members and stakeholders that we are continually reviewing and looking at ways to improve our systems.”

catalysts for renewal, growth and jobs; however the consistency of their delivery is mixed.

Andy Godfrey, Senior Public Policy Manager at Boots and a leading member of the British BIDs Advisory Board said: “At their best BIDs can be genuine drivers of change and

“The focus on our town and city centres is greater than it is has been in a long time. Believing in partnership is now second nature and the value and impact that BIDs are making across the country is becoming clear.”

About Croydon BID Our aim is to ensure that Croydon increasingly is regarded as one of the best places in south London to visit, work, live and do business by delivering positive change and improvements to the Town Centre that enhance its competitive position. We represent the interests of around 600 businesses and our projects and services directly reflect their expressed, up-to-date priorities, namely: that the town should be made safer, cleaner, better promoted, more attractive and more accessible. We are funded through a mandatory 1% levy collected from all businesses in the area with a rateable value of £40,000 or more. As a result, since the BID was first formed in 2007, £15 million of extra investment has been made on improving the Town Centre.

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