Agenda item

This report presents the Council’s place shaping approach to transform key town centres and priority areas. The vision is to create vibrant and connected hubs that celebrate their unique character and foster a keen sense of place. The report also outlines ongoing work to support vibrant secondary high streets which are at the heart of communities.

Nicki Burgess, Head of Business & Enterprise gave a presentation which provided details of the Council’s place shaping approach to transform key town centres and priority areas. It also outlined ongoing work to support vibrant secondary high streets

The presentation covered the following points:

·       The Council's place shaping vision to transform three key regeneration priority areas:

1.    King Street and the opportunities the Civic Campus presents.

2.    Shepherds Bush and its connectivity with the White City Innovation District.

3.    North End Road and the section 106 opportunities Earls Court Development present.

·       Place Shaping ambitions align with the Local Plan, Arts & Cultural Strategy, Hammersmith SPD, Civic Campus Board, White City Public Realm Study, and the overarching aims of the Industrial Strategy.

·       The work also includes supporting secondary highstreets with the formation of the seven High Street Business Associations.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang commended the progress which had been made on the Civic Campus and highlighted that Olympia would be coming on track in the near future. In relation to subways and public safety, he confirmed that he agreed with the points that were raised in the officer presentation. He stated it was important the Council thought creatively and engaged with residents about how it could encourage them and visitors to the borough, to use the range of facilities in Hammersmith and Fulham (the Civic Campus, Olympia, King Street, the Thames Path and surrounding places of interest.). Further points of discussion included the importance of accessibility and provision for young people.

In response, Nicki Burgess, Head of Business & Enterprise confirmed that the Council was looking at joining up with the river as part of its wider vision for the borough. And it was also looking at other stakeholders and assets within the borough such as Olympia and Lyric Theatre to drive more footfall towards Hammersmith as a whole.

Councillor Jackie Borland commented on the decline of Fulham Broadway over the last 5 years in comparison to Hammersmith and the north of the borough and asked what support could be offered to help improve and rejuvenate the area. In response, Nicki Burgess confirmed that there had been a high turnover of businesses in the area. However, there were new businesses coming in, and highlighted that North End Road and Fulham Broadway to Lillie Road were the key town centres. It was noted that officers were working closely with Fulham Bid to encourage further investment into the area. Councillor Jackie Borland commented that it was important for high streets to work independently as well as collectively to provide the best services for the community.

Councillor Ashok Patel asked what the investments sums were for the regeneration projects in Shepherd’s Bush and North End. While he agreed that more should be done to encourage the growth of new businesses, he highlighted the impact of business rates and also the enforcement of business rates. In response, Nicki Burgess confirmed that later items in the agenda would address investment for regeneration and she confirmed that in terms of North End Road, the Council was working with ECDC (Earls Court Development Company)who would be submitting their planning application in the near future, so the Council would be negotiating Section 106 monies to fund those improvements.

The Chair commented that the strategy was a good example of co-ordination and cross working across the Council. Councillor Rory Vaughan asked what resident involvement there was going to be in some of the strategies that had been outlined. And in terms of the strategies, he asked if there were some quick wins anticipated (such as on King Street) as well as what the longer-term ambitions were.

In terms of resident engagement, Nicki Burgess confirmed that projects like the Civic Campus had already heavily involved residents. The Council had its internal governance framework, and now it needed to construct its external governance framework and how the Council was going to engage and work with residents. Nicki Burgess explained that the Council ran a Business Network with brought business together on a bi-monthly basis and officers were planning on undertaking a business engagement event for King Street businesses in June 2024. This would underline what the Civic Campus was, including what the benefits were. In terms of quick wins, Nicki Burgess highlighted the shop front programme, subway quality and improving the quality of streets projects. In North End Road, the Council was concentrating on the branding of the stalls, and in Shepherd’s Bush there was the Comedy Festival in the near future. Shepherd’s Bush Business Forum were also working hard to join up the attractions and create a visitor map to encourage new visitors and develop the night-time economy.

The Chair was encouraged by the large number of projects that were underway and commended the good cross-working across the council. The Committee supported the way in which Business Associations had been used to develop specific regions in the borough and increase footfall in these areas.

RESOLVED

For the Committee to note and comment on the report.