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 North Laine Traders Association
Minutes of the Street Reps meeting held on Wednesday 5 April 06
Venue: 6pm, Off Beat Coffee Bar, Sydney Street.
Attendees: Andrew Bird (Silverado), David Sewell (Pavilion Gardens Café), Eddie Start (Open Spaces), Ed Birch (One 40 Five) Maddy Carr (Business Forum), Pat Mernagh (Animal House), Peter Stocker (Workshop Pottery), Donna (Hell’s Kitchen) Sharon Thomas (Off Beat Coffee Bar), Soozie Campbell (City Centre Manager)
Apologies: David Hall (Marks & Co), Geoff Ellis (Brighton Bead Shop), Sandra Williams (Revamp)
Welcome: Peter Stocker, Secretary, NLTA, welcomed everyone to the meeting, and particularly Sharon Thomas as newly elected Chair of the Association. He also introduced Brian Pedley who had come to talk about the website, and Soozie Campbell, City Centre Manager. |
| Meetings attended and Correspondence |
- City In Bloom – 29 March, attended by Donna. Hanging baskets will not be available for 2006 due to the water shortage. Launch on 13th April, 12pm in Pavilion Gardens will promote chilli plants/alternative plants that do not need much water. Prize giving at the Grand takes place at 4 pm on the same day.
- Board meeting of the Brighton & Hove Business Forum – 6 April, attended by Andrew and Peter.
- Economic Partnership Lunch meeting – 28 March, attended by Peter, discussing the Local Development Framework.
- Cultural Services Audit Commission Report – Some cultural events in Brighton are deemed too expensive for residents in the lower income bracket, and the library service needs to be improved. The Museum was praised for its special needs access. Generally good report for B & H council.
- Environwise Magazine - Update in respect of food preparation.
- North Laine Community Association Meeting - 13 March, presentation by the Cycling Initiative, and planning for 30th anniversary celebrations. Sharon attended.
- North Laine Runner – Latest edition just out.
- Newsletter from the Business Forum – the latest edition has gone to all traders included in the BID area and to those who responded but whose streets are not now included.
- Sussex Business Awards Launch – invite to launch on 10th May at the Royal Pavilion.
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| Treasurer's Report |
| Peter Stocker stood in for David Hall.
It was agreed that the £50 donation to Foyer should be repeated this year.
Proposed by Pat and seconded by David.
£20 donation to Elliott Stocker for work done on the website.
Agreed unanimously.
A decision will not be made about NLTA carrier bags until after the website has been done.
Membership: Currently 104 paid up members. Numbers have fallen in East/West Streets which do not have Christmas lights. A structure for membership fees will be looked at after the BIDS referendum at the end of May. |
| North Laine Website |
Currently the website is a contact point, containing a map of the area, and is also a vehicle to display minutes. There is money in the budget to pay for a better website. Brian Pedley can build a website using Dreamweaver, and incorporating a virtual tour and suggests ▪ Index of shops ▪ Opening times ▪ Links to shops own websites - and would welcome input from members. Other features discussed included the rent register, rent reviews, retail law, links to council departments, and this can be password protected. To see some of Brian’s work visit: www.pedleyonline.co.uk . Contact details for further information are: Tel 01273 236978 mobile 07769 677097. Soozie suggested waiting for the BID to commence, and discussed using NLTA web pages on the Brighton Business website (as The Lanes Business Network do). The decision will be made by a sub committee after Easter. Names of those interested in helping to Sharon. |
| Pedestrianisation – Gardner/Sydney Streets |
Sue Paskins was unable to provide any update when asked on 4.04.06 (the day prior to the meeting). |
| Trade Waste Enforcement |
Meeting at the Brighthelm Centre on 12 April – all traders from North Laine welcome. It is also in the latest newsletter/Brighton Business website. Peter Reynolds is taking over from Catriona McBeth at Trading Standards on Tel 01273 292523. He will issue Duty of Care Certificates free of charge to traders who can prove they buy bags from a waste contractor and offer contract advice re Wastetech. |
| A.O.B. |
BIDS update
Soozie Campbell confirmed that all the research has been done and that the BIDS area contains 383 hereditaments (separate premises) with responses from 54%. Of those responses, 61% said they were in favour of a BID and 30% said No. (9% were May Be’s or Don’t Know’s).
She appealed to the Street Reps to encourage people to vote Yes in the Ballot. No further work needs to be done with the traders who were strongly opposed. All traders will receive the legal documentation and the ballot papers will be sent out on 26 April, with responses due by 5 pm on 26 May. To be successful over 51% need to vote Yes representing at least 51% of their total rateable value.
On Monday 10 April a public meeting is being held at the Thistle hotel in Brighton about BIDS. This is an opportunity to be informed, to ask questions and to network. Everyone welcome. |
Drought
Soozie warned traders about the drought and advised that Southern Water were embarking on replacing pipe work within a square mile radius of the city centre. This will take place over the next 4 years. She has asked them not to carry out work during the peak periods in the commercial streets, and to talk with other utilities to co-ordinate works. They are also replacing the fire brigade mains. |
NLTA Stickers
A supply of 40 stickers warning prospective tenants to seek advice on rents/rates will be distributed to prominent shops to display. The web address is on the yellow/blue stickers. |
Constitution
David Hall was sent a template of a constitution for small business associations by Tony Mernagh as the current one is 16 years old and needs bringing up to date.
A copy of the articles of association will accompany these minutes. Peter and Sharon will suggest changes for a future meeting.. |
Drought
Set for Saturday 6 May at 10.30 am, the Parade will follow a different route this year – Trafalgar St – Sydney St – Regent St – Jubilee St (not through Gardner Street).
E-Mail addresses: To make communication quicker and more cost effective, please send an e-mail to Sharon Thomas (Chair) at: offbeatcoffee@hotmail.com Simply put E-mail Address as the subject, and leave the text blank. You will then automatically be added to the contact list. |
| The meeting finished at 7.35pm. |
