The chair of the OBF, Frank Levett, presented Sergeant Russell Lamb with an award for his support and commitment to the community.
Sharon Baldwin, the Orpington BID manager, explained that the BID money (£150-160,000) is all for promoting businesses. She gave an update on various developments:
Walnuts Development and the high street
- Work on building the cinema will start very soon and should bring in other developments and inward investment
- There are plans for a hotel
- Orpington station is being modernised - improving access for those with disabilities, with a new car park and better signage
- Berkeley Homes have bought the Police Station and plans for its redevelopment are under discussion possibly incorporating an NHS unit at the
base (Health Centre?) with residential above (N.B. Orpington Hospital will remain open for at least the next 3 years)
- A new coffee shop has opened - Fee and Brown
- Boots is opening in the Nugent retail park - they have indicated that they plan to stay in the high street but, with 3 floors, they are only trading on
one
Bromley Masterplan
- There is a public consultation underway to develop the local planning framework (LPF) - the high street will have different parts designated -
as offices or residential etc
Refurbishment of public toilets
- On 1 February, the BID company, Orpington 1st, will be taking over the maintenance and management of the toilets (between Sainsbury's and
the library), at least for the period of the BID (until 2018)
- They will be closed for 4-5 weeks during renovation, with the College providing facilities instead
- They will be refurbished and remodelled
- There will be cleaners who will check the toilets regularly
Orpington Business Show
- Love Orpington week planned for 10-17 February
- There are events planned:
Love Dance, Love History, Love Art, Love Fashion (including beauty and hairdressers) and, possibly, Love Film (pop up cinema)
- French market 14-17 February
- Love Business Show on Friday 14 February, in the Village Hall, with stalls and seminars - keynote speaker: Paul Dunn, a motivator
Parking Review
- Enforcement on loading bays has been rather aggressive - people have been ticketed very quickly and unfairly in many cases
- There has been a steady increase in PCNs (Penalty Charge Notice) over the last 3 years
- Efforts are being made to generate a more relaxed parking regime
- There are a lot of loading bays and not all are needed now, so some may be re-allocated to parking bays
- Bromley and Bexley share Parking Services
- A brief and easy-to-read guide to parking in Orpington will be produced in March/April
- Plans for the redevelopment of the museum were on show at the meeting
- Proposals include a temporary exhibition and a community exhibition space
- An events programme has been prepared up to 5 November
The next OBF meeting will be in March - details will be posted here.
Margot Rohan - Orpington Community