Minutes 5th July 2005

Minutes of Meeting on 5 July 2005:

CRYSTAL PALACE & NORWOOD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
HELD AT 1ST FLOOR, LORENZO'S RESTAURANT, WESTOW HILL

1. Present
Honorary Chairman - James Slattery-Kavanagh - Quotes
Honorary Secretary - Lucy Smith - MyMatiz.com
Sharon Parry Baldwin - Town Centre Manager
John Payne - Crystal Palace Community Association
Kevin Carleton-Reeves - Transport Consultant
John Greatrex - Great Exhibition 2001 Ltd
Yemi Dada - Palace Estates
Chris Brody - CBrody.com
Renuka Marley - DCL Consulting
Stephen Bawa - DCL Consulting

2. Apologies
Honorary Membership Secretary - Mary Kennedy - The Tanning Shop
Honorary Treasurer - Peter Runacres - Thornton Springer
Lorenzo Nargi - Lorenzo

3. Minutes of previous meeting
The minutes were proposed by John Payne and seconded by Kevin Carleton-Reeves.

4. Matters arising
The Chamber have received a letter from HSBC about their branch closure. They noted our comments. Sharon said she asked their CEO to be notified about closure of their branches in the district and to give support to districts. The Chamber has been able to make contact with Nigel Westaway and the Chairman has been invited to the September meeting.

5. Chairman's Review
5.1 Membership and Finances
No report was available because the treasurer was not present at the meeting. There is a good membership renewal rate. John Payne suggested Angelina Purcell might come and speak to the Chamber. The development of BIDs might interest business people in becoming members of the Chamber.

5.2 Review of Victorian Weekend in CP Park
The weekend went well. Thanks to Yemi Dada and Geoffrey Gibson for their help on the Chamber stall. The weekend was well attended despite heavy competition from Live 8, Wimbledon and Henley. Sunday was marginally busier.

John Payne suggested a carnival at Crystal Palace. Sharon Baldwin said this would be expensive, but she suggested a contact who could help. There is also the potential for the Farmer's market to combine with any event.

Sharon asked the Chamber's opinion of an open air ice rink on the top site of the park for Christmas and a German market. The Chairman asked Sharon to send more details to put in the newsletter.

Dates for the farmers' market on the top site are: 17 July, 31 July, 21 Aug, 4 Sep, 18 Sep, 2 Oct, 16 Oct, 30 Oct, 6 Nov. Sharon has asked for some classical buskers and to get some deckchairs up for people to sit and eat.

The Crystal Palace Foundation are already advertising 1 & 2 July for the Victorian weekend 2006. People were very interested in the East London line extension. Peter Boxall is happy to come and talk to the Chamber again about the latest news on the East London line.

5.3 New 020 Dialing Codes
020 (3) has been released. This will not affect the existing codes.

5.5 London Olympic Bid 2012
The result is 12.46 tomorrow lunchtime. The iaaf.org web site has a photo of an athlete winning the race holding the Olympic torch from 1952, lit the night before on the top site. The outcome of the bid will have an impact of our sports centre. The stadium will be a regional centre. If we don't get it then London will try for 2024.

6. Business Opportunities at Local Events
There needs to be a business plan for the area. Sharon has tried to put some literature together to brand the town in order to promote the area. This will have information about the town, businesses, history, maps, a business plan with safety, properties, vacancy rates, costs, who to talk to in which borough. It could be sponsored by local estate agents. It was suggested that we need a calendar of activities that businesses can be part of. Business fairs were suggested. John Payne added that Area Committees needed to be in Upper Norwood not just Norbury.

Sharon will be leaving the library because they charge too much and she has no internet access and the windows don't open. Also she is not accessible to the general public. She has funding for a small shop. Allen's Florists £14,500 rental per annum is a possibility.

A Tourist Information Board shop might attract businesses into the area if it also contained town centre management staff, consultation papers, information on the East London Line Extension, local events, part etc. There is a huge demand for this local information. The Chairman will write a letter to this effect to the Town Centre Manager.

DCL said they would support the Town Centre Manager in setting up a business fair. The Chairman asked DCL to put something together in more detail for discussion at the next meeting.

7. Any Other Business
The chairman is away in September and therefore needs a Vice Chair to deputise the meeting.

The corner of Crystal Palace is going up on 30 November. John Payne asked if it was worth making a presentation on proposals for the top site. The main consultation meeting on the park will be 24 September.

The meeting closed at 9.45pm.

Please note there is no meeting in August.

Date of next meeting: Tuesday 6th September 2005 at 7pm, Lorenzo's Restaurant (First Tuesday in the Month)