New Innovation Centre in Central Croydon

Innovative South London in association with Croydon College.

innovate south london

 

 

 

 

 

Ideas for Growth

 

ACCOMMODATION, BUSINESS SUPPORT & NETWORKING TO SUPPORT INNOVATION IN NEW AND ESTABLISHED BUSINESSES ACROSS SOUTH LONDON.

 

If you have an innovative business or are interested in supporting innovation visit our website at www.innovatesouthlondon.co.uk for more information as to how we can help your business develop and grow.

 

Innovate South London

1st Floor, Suffolk House,

College Road, Croydon, CR0 1PF

Tel:                   +44 (0)870 412 4200

Email:               This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

 

 

New Innovation Centre in Central Croydon

Innovate South London in association with CroydonCollege

 

 

The morning session included a presentation on Creative London and its role in promoting,  supporting, championing and investing in the Creative Industries in London. 

 

Creative London aims to be sector led, to focus on action and delivery and to provide the businesses in the sector with opportunities for growth, showcasing and raising their profile generally.  There is also a need for the provision of appropriate business support, suitable premises and seed capital alongside mentors.  LDA will also establish a Creative Industries Business Accelerator in London.

 

The Creative Industries sector is an important one for London and represents about 5% of GDP – generating £21 billion annually and employing more than 500,000 people.  London Creative Industries are one of the fastest growing sectors in the City –with more new jobs than in financial services!

 

The core support programme of Creative London falls under distinct headings :

 

TALENT

 

Open College – links with HEIs

STEP – Maria Diaz Palomares (LDA)

Sector Specific – e.g. Audio Visual Skills Action Plan

 

ENTERPRISE

 

IP Service – “Brand It – Own It”  – one year pilot with LondonCommunicationsCollege – Marice Cumber

Equity Fund – to be up and running by next year – minimum £50K and maximum £250K – Chris Mackman (LDA)   

Business Accelerator – helps businesses to grow through an investment readiness programme – Tim Alexander (LDA)

 

PROPERTY

 

Creative Planning Gain  – working with the LAs, GLA and ALG. – Frank Boyd (LDA)

Property Advice Service

Creative Space Agency – looking at temporary vacant space available – Robin Bramble

 

SHOWCASING

 

Networking and showcase space – Leitina Reuben (LDA)

 

 

SECTOR INVESTMENT

 

Film and Media – Peter Brimson (LDA)

Design – Peter Brimson (LDA)

Music – Paul Rogers (LDA)

Fashion – Robin Bramble (LDA)

MAJOR SHOWCASING – Wendy Wyatt taking the lead

 

Working with Team London

Major events – e.g. Creative London, London Fashion Week

Sector Specific Showcasing Initiatives

International and Inter-Regional Trade Opportunities

 

RESEARCH AND EVALUATION – Frank Boyd (LDA)  

 

CREATIVE HUB INVESTMENT PROGRAMME – Maher Anjum (LDA) taking the lead

 

The Creative Industry hubs will focus on Talent, Showcasing, Enterprise and Property and the rollout of 10 Hubs across London will be part of a 10 year programme.  They will very much be about driving a “bottom up “ approach. 

 

The 10 hub areas include:

 

§         City Fringe

§         Lower LeeValley – Thames Gateway London Partnership taking the lead

§         North Kensington and Notting Hill

§         Hammersmith, Brent and Ealing – Business Enterprise Centre, Focus West taking the lead

§         Brixton and Elephant and Castle

§         Croydon/South London

§         Camden/Kings Cross

§         Deptford/Greenwich – Creative Lewisham taking the lead

§         Barking/East London – Thames Gateway London Partnership taking the lead

§         Haringey/North London – Collage Arts taking the lead

 

The development of hubs to the point of accreditation with the LDA will include the following activities:

 

Establishing a baseline position through some market analysis and identifying local clusters, business activity, networks and infrastructure, looking at growth potential through emerging businesses, etc  

Engaging with partners to ensure a complementary mix

Making the links with HE and FE

 

Local hubs may be an area of activity and may be theme based around a particular sub-sector – e.g. music and performing arts!

The role of the hubs will be to co-ordinate services and support for the creative industry businesses in their hub area.  These will be drawn from the central resources and include:

 

TALENT – hubs will need to develop their partnerships

ENTERPRISE – hubs will be asked to provide a first line diagnostic service for new creative industries and may wish to develop locally tailored grant programmes.  Hubs will want to monitor and support business development. 

PROPERTY– hubs will map baseline availability of sector relevant property

SHOWCASING – supporting events, publicity and PR

 

An area investment plan will need to be drawn up for the hub area which will be a longer term plan over say 10 years and will look at the needs of start-ups as well as SMEs and the larger companies. 

It was clear from the discussions with various partners that the hub areas are at very different stages of development and each area is different.  However, some common problems included a shortage of funds, weak partnerships, London borough politics, scale of some of the areas. 

 

The afternoon session covered much of the same ground and included representatives from the providers of services to the Creative Industries sector – e.g. Skillset, Arts Council, Film London.

 

At the end of the day, we agreed with the LDA that we should:

 

§         Continue to have quarterly meetings of the Group

§         The Group should be provided with an extranet for briefing notes, research, success indicators, etc.

§         Attend some themed seminars – for example looking at what needs to be done to draw up an Investment Plan for a hub area – which would be helpful.

 

 

SUMMARY:  Overall, a useful day with the opportunity to hear about the LDA’s plans for the future and to meet partners from the Creative Industries sector around London.    

 

 

 

Susan Shaw

Head of Business Development

South London Business

15 September 2004