MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

CABINET

WEDNESday 11 MARCH 2015

REPORT OF Head of Policy and Communications

Report prepared by Sam Bailey 

1.           Economic and Commercial Development OSC: Twilight Economy Review

1.1        Issue for Decision

1.1.1   Cabinet is asked to consider the findings of the Economic and Commercial Development Overview and Scrutiny’s Twilight Economy Review and make a decision on whether to accept the recommendations from the review.

1.2        Recommendation of the Economic and Commercial Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee

1.2.1   The following recommendations were made in the Twilight Economy Review Report:

1)   That the Cabinet Member for Economic and Commercial Development be recommended to negotiate a deal with Kent County Council to ensure broken streetlights in the town centre are fixed at a faster timescale than 28 days.

2)   That the Cabinet Member for Planning, Transport and Development should ensure there is appropriate lighting for approaches to council owned town centre car parks.

3)   That the Cabinet Member for Economic and Commercial Development invest in, or encourage businesses to invest in, floodlighting of appropriate buildings in the town centre. Floodlighting of buildings could be included into existing regeneration plans and funded through section 106 money.

4)   That the Cabinet Member of Economic and Commercial Development, as well as the Head of Commercial and Economic Development, be recommended to support the new Town Centre Manager, help them to engage with local businesses and if required support the BID process.

5)   That the Cabinet Member for Economic and Commercial Development work with the business community in the town centre to find a ‘champion’ for the twilight economy. This person could be the new Town Centre Manager, or could be a separate representative of the businesses who operate in twilight hours.

6)   That the Head of Commercial and Economic Development be recommended to investigate the costs and possibility of bringing the MyCanterbury app to Maidstone, with a particular focus on twilight economy businesses.

7)   That the Cabinet Member for Economic and Commercial Development make the proposed regeneration work in Week Street, Earl Street and Gabriel’s Hill a priority.

8)   That the Cabinet Member for Planning, Transport and Development be recommended to negotiate that park and ride tickets be valid on local bus routes after park and ride services finish, and to keep the park and ride car parks unlocked in the evenings. This could be trialled at the London Road car park, as it has the best local bus services, and the passenger numbers be monitored. If successful, this could be expanded to all Park and Ride sites.

9)   That the interaction between Park and Ride sites and local bus services in the evening be considered by the Cabinet Member for Planning Transport and Development, as well as the Planning, Transport and Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee, when considering the Integrated Transport Strategy.

1.3        Reasons for Recommendation

1.3.1   The reasons for recommendation are outlined in the Twilight Economy Review Report which is attached as Appendix A.

1.4        Alternative Action and why not Recommended

1.4.1   The council could chose not to take action to improve the Twilight Economy. However, this might mean an opportunity to improve the vibrancy of the Town Centre is missed.

1.5        Impact on Corporate Objectives

1.5.1   The review impacts on the following corporate objectives:

·         ‘For Maidstone to have a growing economy’

·         ‘For Maidstone to be a decent place to live’

1.6        Risk Management

1.6.1   The recommendations contained within this report will need to be risk assessed as part of viewing whether they should be accepted or not.

1.7        Other Implications

1.7.1    

1.7.2   Financial

Some of the recommendations may have financial implications, for example the recommendation to invest in floodlighting of appropriate building in the town centre.

1.7.3   Staffing

Some of the recommendations may have staffing implications, for example the recommendation not to lock park and ride car parks after 6.30.

1.7.4   Procurement

Some of the recommendations may have procurement implications, for example the recommendation around adopting the ‘MyCanterbury’ app for Maidstone.

1.8        Relevant Documents

1.8.1   Appendices

Appendix A- Twilight Economy Review Report

1.8.2   Background Documents

None

IS THIS A KEY DECISION REPORT?                  THIS BOX MUST BE COMPLETED     Yes                                               No     If yes, this is a Key Decision because: ……………………………………………………………..   …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….     Wards/Parishes affected: …………………………………………………………………………………..   ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..