Agenda item

To Follow – At the time of agenda publication no reports or presentations were available, these will be published and circulated to the Panel and public as soon as is possible.

At the meeting the Panel are due to receive presentations in respect of this agenda item and discuss the matter in more detail.

The Director for Economy & Growth introduced this item to the Panel. He said that he welcomed the opportunity to discuss the issue and acknowledged that this comes at a time of national headlines reporting the closure of many large retail businesses.

He informed the Panel that this could be due to a number of factors, including;

·  Use of technology / online purchases

·  Higher costs to businesses – Minimum wage, Rates etc.

·  Less cash in the economy

·  Change in the tastes of the public

·  Chains opening too many outlets

He explained that the Panel would receive three presentations (Matthew Morris (GVA), Alison Herbert (BID) and Rob Dawson (Council’s Business Growth Team) and discuss how the local area can be supported.

Matthew Morris, GVA – Retail and Town Centre Trends

A summary of his presentation is set out below.

Retail Spending

Councillor Lisa O’Brien commented that shoppers were now not simply looking to make pure retail visits they are looking for a leisure experience. She added that since a number of coffee shops have opened in Keynsham that footfall has increased.

Matthew Morris agreed that over the past ten years that food and drink outlets have been the saviour of high streets.

Sales by location

Malls    2014 size  2019 size  Growth (2014-19)

  £22.9bn  29.7bn  29.6%

Local /   2014 size  2019 size  Growth (2014-19)

Other  £54.5bn  59.6bn  9.5%

Retail  2014 size  2019 size  Growth (2014-19)

Parks  94.7bn  97.8bn  3.3%

High  2014 size  2019 size  Growth (2014-19)

Streets  107.2bn  108.0bn  0.7%

Traditional retailing v non-store retailing

Since 2012 growth in retailing has increased between 2 – 4.2%, in comparison growth in non-store retailing which has increased between 9 – 16.4%. A forecast for future years shows a similar trend.

Grocery retail sector – Market shares

Between 2012 – 2017 there has been a degree of change to shopping at one of ‘big four’ supermarkets with Aldi (+2.5%) and Lidl (+1.3%) seeing an increase in custom.

2018 – A tough year on the high street

Jamie’s Italian – 12 restaurants close

Toys R us – closure of UK business

New Look – up to 60 stores to close

Carpetright – 92 of its 409 stores to close

Marks & Spencer – 100 stores to close by 2022

Carphone Warehouse – 92 shops to close

Mothercare – 50 stores to close

Poundworld – closure of all stores

House of Fraser – 31 of 59 stores to close

Retail Trends Influencing Planning Applications

?  Re-purposing of out of centre space and vacancies created by store closures – see M&S, Lower Bristol Road, Bath example

?  Move from large high end out of centre retail park proposals to more modest value orientated proposals

?  Aggressive ‘asset management’ of retail parks

?  Slower pace of re-purposing town centre space in the face of change / decline

How can the public sector respond to these changes / trends?

?  More flexible in terms of changes of use

?  Independent sector

?  Public sector control / ownership

?  The rise in ‘people services’ and ‘experience’

?  Local interest groups

Land Uses and Policy Approach

?  Trend towards service-based uses in district and local centres

?  Focus upon ‘people services’

?  Differentiated planning policy approach for local and district centres

?  Less emphasis on retaining a large amount of Class A1 shops

?  Broader mix of main town centre uses

?  Research shows that successful centres don’t just rely on retailing

?  Greater public sector involvement in delivery of Local Plan allocations

Public Sector Control / Ownership

?  Market failure in town centres

?  Local authorities purchasing existing retail / town centre floorspace

?  Gloucester City Council: Kings Quarter & Kings Walk

?  Stroud: Merrywalks Shopping Centre

?  Development companies in Cornwall and Torbay

?  Different emphasis to purely private sector ownership

Locally-Led Groups

?  Business Improvement Districts / local traders associations

?  Not just city / town centres, but also district and local centres

?  Events to draw visitors to local / district centres

Councillor Barry Macrae asked if some businesses had noticeably moved into district centres from the city centre.

Matthew Morris replied that this was true to a certain degree due to the cost of rents.

The Chairman asked for clarification of the use class orders for shops / retail outlets.

The Team Manager for Planning Policy stated that they were as follows:

·  A1 – Retail

·  A2 – Services

·  A3 – Cafes / Restaurants

·  A4 – Drinking Establishments

·  A5 – Take Aways

The Chairman asked how Local Plan now differs with regard to change of use.

The Team Manager for Planning Policy replied that in 2007 a decision was taken to not permit a change of use from A1. He added that the Placemaking Plan has looked at work to be more flexible about these arrangements whilst still protecting shops to a certain extent.

He said that as work continues on the new Local Plan he expects this element to be looked at again.

Councillor Lisa O’Brien commented that she was pleased to hear that some landlords in Keynsham were taking a more friendly approach to rent agreements at least at the outset of a new business.

Matthew Morris replied that he was aware that the option of a rent whereby the tenants pay the landlord a % of their turnover were starting to take shape.

Councillor Liz Richardson asked if the classes (A1, A2 etc) have the same level of business rates.

Matthew Morris replied that individual rates would be applied per shop.

Councillor Liz Richardson asked his view on showroom concept stores.

Matthew Morris replied that these stores were few and far between, but are seen as a destination or experience to gain footfall to the area they are situated in.

Councillor Barry Macrae commented that 30 years ago Bath provided more of a unique offer, but he felt that it was now the same shops everywhere. He asked if it was possible to overcome the brand names remaining in clusters.

Matthew Morris replied that as we live in a capitalist free market it was not. He added though that Bath was second on the list for the number of small retailers it has in a comparison with similar sized cities.

The Chairman thanked Matthew Morris for his attendance on behalf of the Panel.

Alison Herbert, Bath BID (Business Improvement District) -

A summary of her presentation is set out below.

What we do

The BID works with 710 premises within the middle of the city, well over half of these are independent.

Clean – Provide additional street clean functions to that of the Council

Safe – Fund the Taxi Marshall scheme

Prosperous – Give business support and guidance to our members

Welcome – Support events within the city centre and help to maintain its floral displays

Smart – Gather data on behalf of our members to identify shopping trends and how visitors and residents navigate around the city.

Current local trends, footfall and sales

Bath BID pays for 5 cameras in the city centre which count footfall.  We are in the process of getting a further one and in addition, Southgate shopping centre shares information with us. In addition we have monthly sales data provided anonymously by 20 businesses.

Councillor Rob Appleyard asked if the BID covered the area of Walcot Street.

Alison Herbert replied that it does.

Councillor Barry Macrae commented that it would be interesting to see the spread of footfall between residents and tourists.

Alison Herbert replied that the BID were working with a number of agencies, including the Council, Police, Bath Rugby, Mastercard and O2 to gather more detailed info on movements and trends around the city.

Future High Street 2030

The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee launches inquiry looking at the future of England’s high streets and town centres in 2030.

“Our high streets and town centres have an important social, civic and cultural place in our society. But, many of our high streets are now struggling, facing a range of challenges including the threat posed by online retailers. Indeed, changing trends and behaviours in recent decades – driven by a range of economic, demographic, social and technological factors – have affected the prosperity and vibrancy of our high streets.”

What can we do looking forward?

Collaborate on events together and make them better

Take more care of our retail and high street businesses

Public realm and amenities

Ensure that unhelpful street activity is regulated (traders)

Work together to tackle antisocial behaviour and homelessness

Curate the retail offer as landlords

Councillor Lisa O’Brien said that she felt the current use of the community space within Southgate was a great idea and asked if the shops in close proximity had seen an increase in footfall.

Alison Herbert replied that she did not have the information to hand. She added that the BID was not responsible for this work as Southgate was privately owned land.

Councillor Colin Blackburn said that he found it interesting that some businesses that had begun online were now making their way into having a physical presence on the high street. He said that he felt the idea of concept stores was worth pursuing.

Alison Herbert replied that the BID would also like to see businesses take a different approach where possible to increase trade. She spoke of how shoemakers Loakes will sometimes go out onto the streets and offer a shoe polish service. She said that she was aware that John Lewis had held events with live sewers providing alterations to curtains and that House of Fraser in Bath has recently developed a small space in store to curate events.

The Chairman asked if the BID would consider expanding into other areas of the Council, including Keynsham and Midsomer Norton.

Alison Herbert replied that she saw no reason in principle why they couldn’t, but said that the members of the BID would need to be consulted on their boundary.

Councillor Liz Richardson asked if the BID work with landlords when shops become empty.

Alison Herbert said that they are able to dress them on behalf of landlords. She added that they were seeking to hold an open day with agents to gain interest in empty premises and were having discussions with the Council on difficult to rent sites.

Councillor Barry Macrae said that he hoped for the BID to become more proactive through this process as he felt they have a unique contribution to make to many aspects within the city.

The Chairman thanked Alison Herbert for her attendance on behalf of the Panel.

Rob Dawson, Business Engagement Officer

A summary of his presentation is set out below.

The Business Growth Team and our Role

The Business Growth Team consists of 4 staff who sit within Economic Growth at the Council and are tasked with delivering the business theme of the Council’s Economic Strategy Review. Under that theme there are three priorities: business growth & investment, new business space and business support.

The Economic Strategy Review also identifies retail as one of Bath & North East Somerset’s “core sectors”, indicating its importance in terms of current employment (over 10,000 jobs).

Our team therefore has a strategic objective to support local retailers and help protect this valuable sector. We also recognise the added role the retailers play in making a place desirable to live and work; a village shop can help bind a rural community whilst the shopping offer of Bath city centre helps make it an attractive location proposition for offices.

Our role is to engage with and support local businesses and provide one point of contact should they have issues with or need to access any additional Council services.

Recent activity assisting retailers

Strategic and Collaborative

We have helped Cllr Paul Myers create a Retail Reference Group for Bath & North East Somerset. The Retail Reference Group consists of independent retailers from various retail districts in Bath & North East Somerset, who meet with the Business Growth Team and Cllr Paul Myers to provide feedback on trading conditions and any issues they are currently faced with. This new Group is helping inform the production of a new Retail Action Plan, other future policy direction and business support initiatives.

A representative from the Business Growth Team also attends the Bath Independents Group and other retail forums to listen to retailer’s concerns, understand current and future trends and promote the ways in which retailers can get help.

We have also supported the creation of the new Keynsham Business Forum, which is sector agnostic but has been heavily attended by shopkeepers to date.

Direct Retail Engagement and Support

We conducted a survey on the economic impact of the Keynsham High Street one way trial on local businesses and over 100 responses from businesses in or around Keynsham High Street were received.

The survey findings will help shape the future of the high street’s transport infrastructure. Beyond the survey, many retailers wanted to talk about other issues affecting their business, requiring a business support referral or help accessing other services offered by the Council. We now have an ongoing relationship with many traders as a result of this work.

Our team carried out employment monitoring checks for the Bath Enterprise Zone in March, which provided another opportunity to engage with retailers in the Guildhall and Green Park Station retail areas of Bath. Once again we used the face-to-face opportunity to promote business support opportunities and assisted retailers with various issues such as finding a new property and employment law.

We have also commenced dialogue with a number of traders on Moorland Road as one action coming from the Retail Reference Group. I have conducted individual business visits and follow-up assists with some retailers and introduced myself to over a dozen more. We hope to have a traders meeting in the summer.

I also meet business on their premises following receiving an initial enquiry. Whilst this service is more labour-intensive than other communication methods we find that traders are more tied to their premises and less likely to access online support services in comparison to other sectors. Putting a face to a name, visiting and understanding their business and then responding to any questions has been valued by the shopkeepers.

The team has engaged and/or assisted over 240 retailers so far in 2018

Business Support Available

Enterprising West of England is our flagship business support project for Bath & North East Somerset and represents our main investment in business support.

The project which commenced in 2017 and ends at the end of 2019 is led by Business West and match-funded by the EU, meaning the Council is receiving double its investment for business support.

The programme covers the West of England and includes help for pre-starts and existing businesses that have less than 250 employees.

Grants are also available towards the cost of coaching businesses towards growth

Cool Ventures – Businesses can receive up to 12 hours of free business support, which is delivered by local consultants Cool Ventures following a procurement process. This compares with 3 hours of free support on our previous programme.

Cool Ventures have a number of specialists they can refer businesses on to, including support services that are experienced in working with retailers. A face to face meeting would take place first to understand the business and the challenges they are currently faced, followed by planned programme of support to help businesses grow.

Direct Interventions

These are within the bounds of our work area in the Business Growth Team, so do not include public realm, planning and fiscal interventions.

Specialised retailer training to improve shopper experience, increase footfall and boost sales. These initiatives could include mystery shopping and window dressing training, and could be wrapped around a campaign or competition to increase awareness.

Funded digital skills training for retailers to establish and/or improve their web mobile and social media presence. Online sales have irrevocably changed UK retailing yet in 2017 still accounted for less than a fifth of retail trade nationally; this is only going to grow. According to Google there has been a 300% increase in searches for “opening hours” in the past two years. In short, shopkeepers need to have a clear and easily searchable online presence or risk losing trade to those who do.

Expanding the Council’s engagement of retailers to ensure all of our retail zones have access to the same services and support

Indirect interventions

Work with retailers and partners at the Bath BID, Visit Bath to establish shopper profiles for the retail districts in BANES. Determine how the retail district is marketed as a whole, and how this can be improved to bringing about more first time visits, more return visits and longer dwell time.

Following on from the previous intervention, work collaboratively with partners to encourage suitable events, experiences and leisure opportunities to attract and retain customers to retail districts

Councillor Barry Macrae said that he was pleased to hear that the team will offer to carry out work in local areas.

Councillor Colin Blackburn asked what the response has been from retailers regarding training and support.

The Business Engagement Officer replied that it has been broadly positive in the main. He added that within the team they have been highlighting the offer of support from Cool Ventures.

Councillor Colin Blackburn asked what the increase in search for ‘opening hours’ tells us.

The Business Engagement Officer replied that it shows that customers are becoming more curious and the need for businesses to have a good website or business Facebook page

The Chairman thanked Rob Dawson on behalf of the Panel.

Councillor Paul Myers, Cabinet Member for Economic and Community Regeneration said that he believed there was a real role for the Council in providing support to our local businesses.

Councillor Liz Richardson commented that she felt that the Panel should have a role in the development of the Local Plan, especially with regard to possible change of class use of retail sites.

Councillor Lisa O’Brien asked if the Council in its landlord role charged market rate rents.

The Director for Economy & Growth replied that it does.

Councillor Lisa O’Brien asked how many unoccupied sites were within the city.

The Director for Economy & Growth replied that of the 450 commercial properties, 19 were vacant and 9 of those were currently under offer.

Councillor Lisa O’Brien asked if Council helps in terms of shop facia when a site becomes empty.

The Director for Economy & Growth replied that the Council does use some vacant sites to advertise events, but that generally sites become occupied soon after becoming available.

Councillor Rob Appleyard said that he was pleased to hear that the speed of turnover once a property becomes vacant is good. He asked whether the area was over supplied with retail offers.

The Director for Economy & Growth replied that we are obviously seeing that a number of large retailers have overstretched themselves. He added that the Council was looking at what it can do in terms of flexible leases, especially for small businesses.

Councillor Paul Myers said that B&NES should celebrate its retail success especially that of its vast amount of independent traders.

The Chairman asked if the Panel can support a proposal to expand the BID.

Councillor Myers replied that in these current times retailers were unlikely to want to incur extra costs. He added that discussions are carried out with the local Chambers of Commerce. He suggested the Panel revisit this discussion in a few months’ time to see how it has developed.

The Director for Economy & Growth added that an opportunity to discuss the boundary of the BID could take place in 2020.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their part in a very interesting debate and said he looked forward to any future work carried out by the Panel.