Chairman’s Speech, by Ilker Dervish

Good morning, and welcome to the London Riverside BID’s AGM for the year April 2024 to March 2025.  I’m pleased to be back here addressing you today.

The period 2024/2025 was the third year of the BID’s fourth term, which runs until March 2027.

The BID exists to invest levies in initiatives that meet the needs of its members and improve the industrial zone in which we operate.

Core contracts

We rely on five core contracts to deliver the priorities and needs of our members, which are negotiated each term.

Firstly, and most crucially, a termly Baseline Agreement with the Council sets out the level of service we can expect from Environmental Services during the term so that our own investments are provided in addition to the Council’s statutory duties.

Then we have four main supplier contracts for core services that manage, maintain and enhance the environment in which we all work. These are for security services, CCTV management and maintenance, cleaning and landscape maintenance, and weekly sweeps in addition to the Council’s sweeps.

During the term a substantial amount of time was spent managing the service levels from the Council’s environmental cleansing contractor, newly appointed in the Autumn of 2023 when the Council switched to outsourced services.  As I reported last year the BID has observed a reduction in service levels in areas such as preventative, non-critical maintenance and management of the environment.

Cleanliness of the roads, in particular Ferry and Coldharbour Lanes, suffered considerably during the year, mostly due to the infrequency and quality of cleansing by the new contractors. It took a considerable amount of resource and time, working with the council’s contract management team, to bring the cleanliness levels back up to an acceptable standard, and this was only achieved recently when the weather improved.

We will of course, continue to monitor and manage, and to supplement Council services as necessary.

Grant funding and capital investments

We were able to grant fund several capital projects across the BID for members, which Debbie will tell you more about in a moment, and we supported members wherever we could to make improvements that deliver benefit across the various estates.

Crime and policing

On crime and policing, I’m pleased to say that during the year we had no major incidents of traveller incursions, large-scale theft or fly-tipping.  The usual hotspots were managed quickly and effectively by the Council or our contractor.

Our prominent security patrols are very effective and, coupled with our CCTV and ANPR assets, were the single highest investment we made for BID members.

We invested in further technical upgrades to CCTV and ANPR assets as budgets permitted and we switched our static telephone connections to 4G, which has reduced telephone bills to zero.

With the Council and Police providing no CCTV coverage in the BID area, the Board considers it a necessary investment to maintain our own cameras as a deterrent.

Good Growth Fund

During the year the two new seating areas and associated public realm improvements were completed, utilising a combination of Good Growth Funding from the Mayor of London, reserves from BID levies and S106/CIL funding.  All available funding was drawn down, including underspend from other Havering programmes which we were able to redirect successfully to the BID area.

The gateway roundabouts and 3 new planted beds at the Museum of Garden Escapes were planted with drought tolerant perennials and 100s of bulbs.  Those of you who drive along that route will have seen a significant transformation.

Employees in and around Coldharbour and Ferry Lanes, and the many walkers and cyclists that use the path along the sea wall, are now enjoying the new, usable outdoor space with views over the Thames, somewhere to sit, and a more pleasant environment in which to spend their free time and breaks.

Widened and improved paths make the area safer; cycle parking, bins and signage signify that it is a managed space to be respected and enjoyed by all, and we have a programme of ecological maintenance and improvements to protect and enhance the natural habitats and the wildlife that occupy the green spaces.

Despite this, and sadly unsurprising, we have experienced antisocial behaviour with graffiti, theft and damage to paths, which we put right as required, and which we hope will dwindle as the winter months approach and the novelty of the new wears off.

Development and transport

Moving on to inward investment, we saw no major new development of industrial sites during the year.  Momentum Logistics Park on the old Freightmaster Estate remains unoccupied.

The significant transport development during the year was TfL considering a new Superloop bus route from Gants Hill to Romford and south past Rainham Station, terminating at Easter Park on Ferry Lane south.  This was very welcome news and certainly influenced by the evidence from the travel survey we distributed and which over 450 workers and BID members completed. I think it’s important to acknowledge the effort of the Council’s transport team and I thank them for their considerable liaison and consultation with us on all matters public transport and active travel related.

The Council, with the GLA, continues to lobby for the re-instatement of Beam Park Station, which in turn could unlock further housing development and transport options.

Beyond the borough of Havering, we maintain strategic relationships with the east London sub-regional partnership, the GLA and other London related bodies like London & Partners. I have agreed to become a Thames Freeport Community Ambassador and also to represent the BID on the Beam Park Leaders’ Network, with a view to expanding our influence on wider development programs.

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead we’re still pushing the Council for a masterplan for the Rainham area, especially encompassing the employment zone, and we’re told that work is happening behind the scenes now that the Romford masterplan has been signed off. The unlocking of under-utilised Ford sites and the eventual cessation of Veolia ‘s activities at the landfill site, which are now likely to be extended for a further five years, offer a significant opportunity for economic development and inward investment over the next 10-20 years.

The much-anticipated data centre has yet to complete its journey through the planning process and so we have yet to see what real benefit this could bring.

I would like to extend my thanks to my fellow Board members for their time and valuable contribution.

As always we welcome new board members from member businesses across the BID area.

Thank you
END

If you have any queries, please contact the BID team on  info@londonriversidebid.co.uk