We received the news on Saturday that the Forest Hill, Kirkdale and Sydenham combined bid to be a Portas Pilot Town wasn’t successful during the first round of bidding. The good news is that there will be a second round for a further 12 Portas Pilot Towns, with bids to be submitted by 30 June.
While the bid failure is a disappointment, simply being involved in the process has spurred each of the high streets involved in our bid into action and Bake are doing all that we can to aid efforts. We are not only consulting with each of the traders groups but we are also responsible for driving some exciting initiatives:
We have set up an Empty Shops Group
Along with Lee Newham of Designed by Good People we have set up an Empty Shops Group, with the first meeting taking place on 12 June. Loosely at this stage the aims of the group are:
- To identify and engage landlords.
- To come up with a range of ideas to bring empty ideas into use from temporary arts related projects to initiatives that will encourage new businesses to take up the empty units.
- To work with the local authorities and traders to put pressure on landlords to accept meanwhile uses for shops while they remain empty.
If you are interested in being part of this group or learning more about this initiative you can email me.
Louise is leading the Marketing Committee for Kirkdale Village
Kirkdale Village has created a Traders and Community Group. The following committees have been created to drive a variety of activities: Green Fingers, Marketing, Events, Arts and Fundraising. Louise will be leading the Marketing Committee. Along with the fundamental activities required to raise the profile of the high street and promote events and initiatives, the group aims to get creative in bringing the community and the high street together.
Bake Support Street Art
We feel that street art is a great way to generate interest in a neglected high street. We am encouraging each of the traders groups to incorporate street art into their vision and we are engaging with local artists and some high profile street artists in the hope that we will see some exciting work in our South East London high streets very soon.
If you would like to hear more about the high street regeneration initiatives that Bake are involved in you can drop us an email at hello@bakelondon.co.uk.