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Consultation with local business

The main period of public consultation between June and September 2003 was initiated by a breakfast launch for all shopping centre businesses held in the shopping centre itself. There have been sixteen meetings of the Shopping Centre Liaison Group (SCLG) since September 2003. Three separate exhibitions, lasting several days each, have been held at the shopping centre in 2003, 2004 and June 2005. The shopping centre tenants also receive copies of all newsletters, both by personal delivery of bulk copies and by distribution through pick-up points in the shopping centre.

a) The council has established the joint SCLG as a forum for partnership working between shopping centre owners KPI the businesses and traders within the centre, the Chamber of Commerce, Business Extra and the council itself. An independent Chairperson of this group has been appointed jointly by the council, the occupying businesses and KPI, and the full cost of this appointment is borne by the council.

b) Through the Elephant Links SRB programmes, the council has established Business Extra, which is an independent professional organisation that provides advice, free at the point of use, to local businesses affected by the scheme proposals.

c) Through the SCLG, the council has briefed businesses on the overall project, encouraged their input and has been able to adapt and prepare proposals based on guidance and advice from the businesses themselves.
d) The council has offered, through Business Extra, to provide businesses with an in-depth and confidential review of their operation,  leading to  the preparation of a bespoke business plan, based on their current and future trading requirements and expectations. The cost of this exercise has been fully underwritten by the council.

e) Jointly with the traders and KPI, the council has organised and co-funded a number of major promotions, which are designed to maintain public confidence in, and loyalty to, the shopping centre.  This has included Christmas events, summer holiday events and promotions and a major celebration of the centre’s 40th birthday in spring 2005.

f) The council has prepared and circulated a business information kit, in the form of an updateable file of project information.

g) There is reference in the business information kit to the council’s intentions of using early developments (in particular third-party schemes) as a means of securing affordable trading space suitable for local retailers and service providers and helping them remain trading within the area following the demolition of the shopping centre. In order to do this effectively, the council has funded a survey of all businesses in the centre to ascertain their requirements in terms of floor space, unit type and location. A team of independent surveyors is currently carrying out the work on site.

h) The council is negotiating with developers who are promoting schemes in the area about whether they can accommodate businesses that will have to relocate from the shopping centre.

i) In recognition of the difficulty that some businesses face in obtaining independent legal and specialist valuation advice, the council has offered to fund the preparation and presentation of this advice in a generic form to the businesses through Business Extra.

j) All of our issued material is available in a range of languages upon request. All documents carry this assurance in translation. In recognition of the very large representation of Spanish speaking customers and businesses from Latin American we have provided a full briefing with simultaneous translation to which all of the Latin businesses were invited. This took place in January 2005 and was well attended.