Agenda item

Report of Councillor Izaac Tailford, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Culture, Wellbeing and Public Realm

The Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Wellbeing, Culture and Public Realm said the report is at Cabinet for Members to note the progress made and how CBC supports the town centre.  He said that despite the many national and international challenges outside the authority’s control, Cheltenham is still punching above its weight, with a vacant unit rate of 7.8%, (half the national average), fewer shop closures than elsewhere, and new and independent businesses opening in the town, recently including Mango and Gail’s.  . 

He made the following points:

-       although the impact of empty shops is felt, the report highlights the mitigating work being done to ensure the town continues to thrive;

-       hopefully, High Street Rental Auction (HSRA) will soon be available to the authority in a designated area of the town, allowing engagement with landlords when necessary and making a positive difference to the town;

-       the Marketing Cheltenham team is working hard, and the Visit Cheltenham website had 2.1m visits last year, has 89k followers on social media, distributed 80k printed leaflets, and sends a fortnightly newsletter to 45,000 addresses.  These are incredible numbers, and a great marketing achievement;

-       the recent BID survey has now ended, and had a good response.  BID will now analyse and prioritise what people want, and a business engagement session is planned for next month to share views;

-       the report highlights the wide range of positive actions being taken, including planning policy, cleansing and support for cultural offering.

He concluded that the council and its partners will continue to do all they can to ensure the town continues to thrive in the face of various challenges as they come.

Members thanked the Cabinet Member for a comprehensive presentation, and made the following comments:

-       Cheltenham is very fortunate to have the BID, supported by local businesses and retailers.  It plays a brilliant role in the town centre, including initiatives on graffiti and other types of cleansing.  Its success is in no small part due to the energy and ideas of the Chief Executive Fran Inman, who will be leaving shortly; CBC wishes her well and looks forward to working with her successor;

-       it is easy for people to run down the town centre, but we are making improvements slowly, and must credit the great team effort from street cleansing and litter pickers who do a fantastic job, day in day out;

-       Cheltenham’s comparatively low vacant unit rate is a Herculean achievement, due to the commitment, hard work, and imagination of many individuals and organisations, and the effective relationship between CBC and BID;

-       in addition, Cheltenham welcomes many thousands of visitors to its festivals across the year, which have a big impact on the town’s success.   

The Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Wellbeing, Culture and Public Realm thanked Members for their comments.  He added his thanks to Fran Inman at the BID, and to other organisations and businesses, such as the Chamber of Commerce, the many and varied festivals, and the Everyman Theatre.  He said a thriving town centre has a positive effect on all residents and visitors, and concluded that, compared with other towns, Cheltenham is doing very well. 

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    the work underway by the council and partners to support the town centre and its businesses is noted;

2.    the report updating on progress against delivery of the vacant units action plan to date is noted.