MIDDLESBROUGH COUNCIL

Baker and Bedford Street Area Vision

Executive Member for Regeneration: Councillor Charles Rooney

Kevin Parkes, Executive Director for Economic Development and Communities

17thMarch 2015

PURPOSE OF THE REPORT

  1. The purpose of this report is to present the Baker and Bedford Street Area vision. It seeks approval from Executive for the Baker and Bedford StreetArea Action Plan and associated capital investment.
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
  1. That Executive approves:

a)the ambition to regenerate the Baker and Bedford Street Area;

b)the implementation of phase 2 of the Baker and Bedford Street Area Action Plan set out at paragraph 13b; and,

c)further development of the Baker and Bedford Street Area Action Plan and future bids to the capital programme.

IF THIS IS A KEY DECISION WHICH KEY DECISION TEST APPLIES?

It is over the financial threshold (£150,000) / X
It has a significant impact on 2 or more wards
Non Key

DECISION IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE

  1. For the purposes of the scrutiny call in procedure this report is

Non-urgent / X
Urgent report

If urgent please give full reasons

BACKGROUND

  1. Baker Street was identified as an ideal location for development of Middlesbrough’s town centre offer, given its prime location near to Middlesbrough’s four shopping centres, Teesside University and the existing independent offer of Linthorpe Road Central. Baker Street is establishing a growing reputation as a freshcosmopolitan destination.
  1. A package of business support and public realm improvements were implemented to regenerate Baker Street using areas such as London’s Brick Lane and New York’s Willamsburg as a blueprint to attract a vibrant and eclectic mix of retailers.
  1. Over the past 24 months the Council has worked with property owners to stimulate property demand and assist businesses to locate to Baker Street using an allocation of High Street Innovation funding. The principles are that by creating a strong vision for an area and galvanising property owners the Council can achieve the same results in other areas of the town.
  1. The Baker Street project has achieved the following outcomes:

a)12 new independent businesses have opened with a further12existing businesses supported allowing resident businesses to expand and grow;

b)17 properties brought back into use or redeveloped resulting in the street becoming fully occupied with demand outstripping the supplyof units;

c)£180,000 has been invested into public realm improvements including new paving, lighting and resurfacing of carriageway creating an attractive environment for businesses and visitors;

d)the Baker Street marketing and promotion campaign won the silver award for ‘Best Low Budget Campaign’ at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) North East Pride Awards 2013 boosting the profile of the project across the North East.

  1. Baker Street now provides a home in Middlesbrough town centre for niche new businesses that collectively offers consumers a viable and attractive alternative to out of town retail parks and the internet. Highlights include;

a)Micro Pubs: The Twisted Lip and Sherlocks;

b)Eateries: Chilli Cake Deli and The Baker Street Kitchen;

c)Vintage Clothing Shops: Disgraceland and Vintageous Rags;

d)Hair Salons:The Copper House, Gallagher’s and Allan George Hairdressing.

  1. Acclaimed fashion designer, Wayne Hemmingway MBE praised Baker Street on his visit to the area generating local, regional and national press coverage. He said “Baker Street is the beating, creative entrepreneurial heart of the town”.

BAKER AND BEDFORD STREET AREA VISION

  1. As a result of the success highlighted above there is demand for similar premises as well as an opportunity to build on the existing momentum by expanding into the adjacent Bedford Street and the wider area as set out in Appendix A. Bedford Street currently houses two businesses. The remaining properties are empty and/or derelict and are similar to Baker Street with low rents and premises that are currently exempt from business rates.
  1. A vision has been developedwith the aim of:

a)providing affordable space for independent retail and leisure businesses by working in partnership with a local property developer to bring empty properties back into use;

b)implementing public realm improvements in keeping with the Victorian heritage of the street to increase area appeal and to encourage further physical regeneration in the surrounding areas;

c)being a project within the Middlesbrough is Changing marketing and PR campaign;

d)broadening the appeal of Middlesbrough town centre to businesses, investors and visitors by creating an attractive addition to the traditional town centre offer;

e)linking the Grange Road exit of the Cleveland Centre with Linthorpe Road Central to create a natural corridor between the two in support of existing businesses as well as creating a thriving retail and leisure area in its own right;

f)raising awareness of the Baker and Bedford Street area to attract footfall through a targeted marketing and promotion campaign;

g)creating a further selling point for Middlesbrough through the establishment of a high quality, artisanal food market;

h)building on the strengths of Middlesbrough’s offer when compared to out of town retail parks and the internet as characterised by its flourishing independent business sector.

  1. A visual concept of the vision is illustrated at Appendix B. Consequently, a Baker and Bedford Street Area Action Plan has been developed consisting of four phases:

a) Phase One

Baker Street: £187,000 investment was approved in 2014/2015 to enhance the area through a series of public realm works to restore its Victorian heritage. To conclude new Victorian style lighting and signage will be installed.

b) Phase Two

Bedford Street:Jomast own all of the empty properties on Bedford Street and has already secured planning permission to redevelop the properties to bring them back into use as retail on the ground floor and residential on the first floor. Work has commenced and is anticipated to be complete in Spring 2015.To complement the upgrade of the premises, the Council has approved £250,000 capital funding to implement a programme of public realm improvements similar to Baker Street.

The Council is working in partnership with Jomast to identify businesses to lease premises. A package of support will be made available to businesses occupying vacant premises including a £2,000 financial assistance package, mentoring and a marketing and promotion campaign. Properties are currently exempt from business rates as the rateable value is below £6,000.

Other proposals include redevelopment of Church House to residential accommodation, revamping of Bedford House and working with local artists to revitalise the alleyway between Baker and Bedford Street.

c) Phase Three

High Quality Food Market: Introduction of a monthly artisanal food market, modelled on London’s Borough Market to showcase the region’s suppliers of high quality provender and street food. The markets creative characteristics will distinguish it from its competitors. The market will be a unique fusion of creativity and commerce with an interactive, creative and participating focus, transforming the traditional marketplace into an engaging 21st century culinary bazaar.The long term ambition is to establish a permanent indoor high quality food market, creating a town centre attraction for visitors to explore and discover and savour a unique atmosphere. A business plan is currently being developed and will be presented to Executive in the Summer.

d) Phase Four

Development and Connectivity of Baker and Bedford StreetArea: The ambition is to grow the momentum from Baker and Bedford Street to Linthorpe Road, Albert Road and Grange Road. A key objective will be creating strong connectivity within the main Linthorpe Road retail area and the Cleveland Centre.

A range of public realm works will be explored to contrast the current emphasis of the streetscene from that dominated by vehicular movements, to an environment which is much more pedestrian-friendly and welcoming. Options for subtle street lighting, modern surface materials and removal of street clutter, coupled with shared surface highway treatments, a standardised palette of materials and street furniture, will all help to establish a common theme for the area. This will aim to improve connectivity between neighbouring town centre areas, set Baker / Bedford Street off to their best advantage and improve pedestrian flows between Linthorpe Road Central, the retail core and Centre Square.Further development work is planned and further bids for capital funding will be made in due course.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS

  1. The town has struggled with a plethora of value retailers that have expanded during the peak of the recession, as well as a large number of town centre-based betting shops, which are thriving despite continued economic uncertainty. Higher-end retailers are reluctant to open in the town due to negative perceptions of the area that these encourage.
  1. The economic benefits of rejuvenating Bedford Street are clear. A growing independent scene and additional desirablepremises will:

a) increase footfall and spend in the town centre;

b) improve night time economy offer;

c) change image and perceptions of the area;

d) generate new employment opportunities;

e) create an incubator for entrepreneurship;

f) complement other current and planned major developments e.g. hotels, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Teesside University campus;

g) generate renewed occupancy of vacant premises.

  1. The development of the Baker and Bedford Street Area allows Middlesbrough to continue to set itself apart from other North East locations and place itself on the map as a key destination for a unique, retail and leisure offer conducive to innovative entrepreneurship.
  2. Investment in the street will also encourage regeneration of surrounding areas. The Baker Street project increased confidence in the area sufficiently that within a year, two of the town’s largest vacant units on Linthorpe Road were let and fully refurbished into now-thriving leisure venues

OPTION APPRAISAL

  1. Option 1 – Do nothing: There would be no economic benefit. Bedford Street would remain derelict with a high number of empty premises, having a predictablenegative effect on neighbouring businesses. There would continue to be a lack of connectivity between the Town Centre, Grange Road and Linthorpe Road Central making the area less desirable to potential investors, businesses, visitors and tenants in advance of the planned residential development of Church House.
  1. Option 2 – Leave redevelopment to the private sector: The Council would not have any control or influence on how the area would look and/or the future use of the premises (other than by the limited in scope planning system). This option would not include public realm improvements or a business support package to encourage entrepreneurship, start-ups and business growth.
  1. Option 3 (preferred option) – Baker and Bedford Street Area Vision: Bedford Streetwould be redeveloped using the Baker Street improvements as a blueprint to grow the town’s independent offer. This option would utilise empty premises, improve a run down area of the town centre, connect the Town Centre with Grange Road and Linthorpe Road Central as well as attract a further mix of independent businesses to provide additional new retail and leisure options to the town,thus attractingadditional people into Middlesbrough town centre.

RISK ASSESSMENT

  1. Lack of interest:The development of Bedford Street is based on the success of Baker Street. Baker Street is fully occupied and demand for units remains high. The likelihood and impact of this potential risk is low.

The council receives frequent enquiries from businesses seeking premises on Baker Street and now Bedford Street. A built-in contingency would bethe possibility to utilise a portion of the vacantpremises to run a retail test-trading project on Bedford Street to support new retailers who could in turn occupy their own premises in the future.

  1. Cost overruns: A similar programme of works was carried out on Baker Street. A detailed public realm scheme including costs was established at the outset. A similar plan would be established for the expansion of the project. As the proposed public realm improvements are to the same specification of those implemented on Baker Street, it is unlikelythat any unforeseen costs will occur.A contingency would be to either reduce the public realm specification and/orstagger the proposed works.
  2. Developer pulls out: The developer has already started work on site following the granting of planning permission to redevelop twelve properties. If Jomast pulled out of the development, the scheme would need to be reassessed. A contingency would beto wait to carry out public realm works until work on the properties is identified to be at a suitably advanced stage, to avoid any unproductive high level spend.

FINANCIAL, LEGAL AND WARD IMPLICATIONS

  1. Financial

£187,000 capital programme funding was approved in 2014 to implement public realm improvements on Baker Street. A further £250,000 capital programme funding has been approved to deliver phase two. Future funding will be sought for further investment for the remaining phases of the Baker and Bedford Street Area Action Plan as the detailed proposals develop.

  1. Ward Implications

The project is located in Middlehaven ward, although the economic benefits of any development are likely to extend across the whole of Middlesbrough and the wider Tees Valley.

  1. Member Consultation

The Executive member for Regeneration and Economic Development has been consulted at weekly regeneration briefings and is supportive.

  1. Legal Implications

Regulation of Street Trading:

The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 gives local authorities the ability to introduce street trading controls within the Borough. On 10 June 1987, both Baker Street and Bedford Street were designated by the Council as prohibited streets. This prohibition therefore makes it an offence for any person to trade in this area and any person doing so could be liable to prosecution. The Council is undertaking a statutory procedure to redesignate Baker and Bedford Street into consent streets to allow for a high quality food market.

Market Laws:

Ancient Market Rights afford some protection to existing Charter and Statute Markets against other markets starting up. Although North Ormesby and Stockton, as Statute Markets, would be protected the proposed high quality food market would not be an issue as long as it doesn’t run at the same time.

RECOMMENDATIONS
  1. It is recommended that the Executive approves:

a)the ambition to regenerate the Baker and Bedford Street Area;

b)the implementation of phase 2 of the Baker and Bedford Street Area Action Plan; and,

c)further development of the Baker and Bedford Street Area Action Plan and future bids to the capital programme.

REASONS
  1. Supporting the Baker and Bedford Street Area Vision described in this report to progress would lead to the development of a significant retail and leisure destination in Middlesbrough Town Centre, as well as regenerating an area that is currently in a state of disrepair, and generating a series of direct and indirect benefits to the town’s economy and reputation.
BACKGROUND PAPERS

No background papers were used in the preparation of this report.

AUTHOR: Michelle McPhee

TEL NO: 01642 729129

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