Deputation to Dulwich Community Council Presented by Max Sharp on Behalf of the South Southwark Business Association

Hello my name is Max Sharp. I am addressing you today on behalf of the South Southwark Business Association and as the owner of esph, a family-owned health and fitness business that employs 24 people locally and has been trading in South Southwark since 1979.

The business community is against the proposed CPZ in any form. It will have a long-term, detrimental effect on all businesses in the area, especially the High Street, where small, specialist shops operate as prescribed in Southwark’s Core Strategy.

1182 petition signatures against the scheme were raised from businesses in just four days
We are all here tonight because we love and care about our community. We want to see it flourish and grow its reputation as an exceptional place to live and work.

Lordship Lane has had a chequered past , from its affluent Victorian beginnings, it became a busy centre of small independent traditional shops and service providers. But it faced near collapse with the opening of the Sainsbury's on Dog Kennel Hill, when every butcher, greengrocer and baker closed its doors and the road became known as Hardship Lane. Evidence of how a single change in a community’s economic eco-system can devastate an area for a generation.

Gradually, through the personal financial risk, hard work and innovation of a core group of independent traders, shops, cafes and restaurants returned and we now have a High street, with its off shoots, which is the envy of other areas. We are constantly asked by visiting councilors and representatives from provincial boroughs how East Dulwich 'happened', how to replicate it elsewhere. And yet, elsewhere Our High Streets are dying. Up and down the country shops in town centres have been closing at the rate of 20 a day. The slow death of our High Streets has prompted the government to commission a report from retail guru Mary Portas, on what can be done to save the British High Street. The report is available on the Business Secretary’s website and I urge you to read it. It describes the challenges the high street faces from out of town retail parks and online sales and one of the main recommendations, following extensive consultation, is that councils HAVE to relax parking restrictions If High Streets are to survive and thrive, Councils must not look to CPZ’s for short term revenue or as a local tax.

The Federation of Small Businesses recently released a report stating that parking restrictions were killing small businesses. Up and down the country cases are being fought against councils who are trying to enforce parking restrictions.

Studies specializing in “intelligent transport systems” at Imperial College, London, have concluded that local authorities, “Consider carefully in the development of their local plan the impact, availability and cost of parking on local trade”.

Despite the mood of the nation, recommendations by trade organizations and the findings of a report commissioned by the government from one of the UK's most respected retail experts, Southwark, which uses 'modern government' as one of its tags lines, is way behind the curve in its senseless pursuit of this scheme, which can only have a negative impact on the local community.

The moment East Dulwich gets the slightest reputation as being somewhere difficult to park then shoppers will travel elsewhere; to centres where adequate municipal parking is provided by the councils, out of town retail parks or simply shop online.

There is very little economic good news around at the moment. Our local businesses are currently not robust; and some shops reported a drop in footfall last year of up to 40%. Any further dip will result in these shops closing.

A busy, diverse, vibrant high street benefits everyone. Yes, the business owners but also the many local people who work for and with them, and the local community who use the businesses. It benefits families that depend on a strong local economy. And, of course, it has a direct impact on the quality of life of all who enjoy living in East Dulwich or visiting the area.

With the utmost respect, we must point out that Southwark Council are not retailers or restaurateurs and, therefore, when it comes to matters that relate to local business then the council has a duty to listen to those on the front line. There has been no consultation with the business community.

In densely populated, busy areas not all of us may be able to park directly outside our houses all of the time. The irony is that the proposed CPZ will not enable that to happen anyway.
I know that our community is very proud of our unique retail environment; however, if we wish it to survive, we must protect it, value it and invest in it. Introducing a CPZ, with a local economy already teetering on the brink, will have an irreversibly negative impact. At best there will be no growth. At worst, shop owners will leave businesses will close down and the unique community will all enjoy will change for ever.

Speak to Dave, the owner of William Rose, our successful local butcher. He had a thriving business in its previous premises in Vauxhall. But the introduction of controlled parking in that area made it impossible for his delivery vans to offload, drove away customers and had such an impact on the business, that he was forced to move.

Southwark, we know that you are facing financial challenges as business owners we face those same challenges on a daily basis. But can you please listen to those around you, as well as to industry experts, and abandon these senseless plans which will ruin the local economy and destroy the unique community that we all enjoy in East Dulwich. Please work together with the local community of residents and businesses and help us protect and promote this part of London as one of the most desirable and safe places to live. Move with the times and show yourselves, as you claim to be, a forward thinking, modern model of government.