Power cuts update

A number of businesses have been affected by random and intermittent power cuts over the last few months

Thank you for keeping us informed of these. We have identified and formed a strong relationship with the appropriate person at UK Power Networks and will work to ensure the infrastructure in Wimbledon is updated to reduce the prevalence of these outages. Please do stay in touch with us if you experience any operational issues such as this, as we are here to support you and lobby for improvements to the services in Wimbledon, allowing you to focus on running your business!

You can contact us on 020 8619 2012 or email us at info@lovewimbledon.org

The Alexandra hosts reception for local volunteers

The Alexandra recently hosted a thank you reception for YMCA’s Night Shelter volunteers

YMCA‘s Night Shelter Co-ordinator, Nicki Zisman commented,

“We’d like to shout out a huge thank you to The Alexandra pub, not only did they provide superb evening meals at St Mark’s Church for our guests in the first half of the run, but also hosted our end of shelter celebration this year to thank our fabulous volunteers. It was a lovely opportunity to come together socially in such a wonderful setting and feed back a little of the success of this year’s shelter run. For Krysia and I, it was a rare opportunity to meet many of our unsung volunteer heroes who covered the night shifts and very early morning breakfast shifts, which was a real privilege.”

One of the attendees also commented,

“Thank you all for organising/hosting a wonderful night … it was really nice to chat to other people involved from the different venues … and thanks Mick and Sarah for once more being the Hosts with the Mosts.”

Update from our CEO,
Helen Clark Bell

Working hard for Wimbledon

Whilst Love Wimbledon is ever present in the town centre looking after the town and working to support our businesses, we are also working hard for Wimbledon at a strategic level.

Within the last few weeks; we attended the recent All Party Parliamentary Group on Crossrail, wrote again to the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime about the closure of Wimbledon Police Station, presented to Urban Design London on what Wimbledon has to offer to the future of the High Street debate and submitted a response to the London Plan.

We have also been working closely with a number of strategic partners to assist the rough sleepers in town to ensure they are offered the support they need. In addition we continue to lobby for improved street cleansing and waste clearance, actively support several new and exciting businesses that will be opening soon and welcomed new Theatre Director, Nick Parr at New Wimbledon Theatre.

Thanks for sharing the love!

Centre Court Shopping Centre raises £459 for British Heart Foundation

 

Centre Court’s Valentine’s Day campaign, encouraging businesses to #spreadthelove raised £459 for the British Heart Foundation.

Local businesses were invited to write a love letter on the back of a uniquely numbered lock which was then attached to their stunning LOVE installation, with Centre Court donating £1 to the British Heart Foundation for each one.

Time & Leisure – Food & Culture Awards 2018

Time & Leisure launch their Food and Culture Awards 2018

Now in their eighth year, these annual food and drink awards celebrate the local heroes that make up our thriving food and drinks scene across south west London and Surrey. Readers of Time & Leisure magazine vote in their thousands to recognise and reward those businesses doing great things in our communities, from fine dining to best retailer.

In 2018, for the first time, Time & Leisure will also recognise the achievements being made when it comes to culture with new categories such as Performing Arts Venue of the Year and Most Innovative Arts Project.

The public are invited to vote for those places and people they think deserve some credit. Plus participants will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win a luxury two-night stay for two at the 4-star Mercure Box Hill Burford Bridge Hotel.

Love Wimbledon will again be sponsoring the category ‘Best Eating Experience in Wimbledon Town Centre’ and we have listed ALL eateries big and small so make sure you promote and spread the word to all your customer to vote here.

This category is open to any business trading in the Love Wimbledon BID District from Street food to restaurants, anyone can vote for their favourite eating experience in town.

  • Quality of food is excellent and consistent
  • Includes street food, cafés, restaurants, take-away – anything goes
  • Service is friendly and attentive
  • Great ambience adding to the overall experience
  • A place you will return to and definitely recommend

If you would like a poster or point of sale material to advertise the T&L Food and Culture Awards 2018 please send us an email with your request.

www.foodandcultureawards.co.uk

Crossrail1 meets Crossrail2

Love Wimbledon attends All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) meeting on Crossrail

Love Wimbledon was invited to attend this APPG meeting to discuss the key learnings from Crossrail 1 and to ensure these are taken into account for the planning and preparation of Crossrail2. APPGs are informal cross-party groups run by MPs to inform the conversation and debate and to help build consensus on issues to be addressed.

David Lammy MP, the Managing Director of Crossrail 2, Michele Dix and other key leaders from Crossrail 1 attended the meeting which outlined the key learnings from Crossrail 1.

The meeting provided a sounding board for attendees and Love Wimbledon highlighted the concern that no firm decision has yet been made on the future of Crossrail 2. We also highlighted the need for a thorough process and phasing plan to be part of the consultation to minimise the impact on the town centre during construction.

Funding conversations are still in progress and the change in financial strategy is ‘this is not just a London project’ as it will also benefit a large commuter belt. We expect to have further news on the result of the current Independent Affordability Review in the summer. The APPG confirmed subsequent to this review Crossrail 2 is hoping to release an agreed option later on this year or early 2019.

CR2 confirmed they are investigating a number of solutions to lessen the impact on businesses in the town centre. Love Wimbledon will persist with our request for more clarity on the impact on the town centre and will continue to attend CR2 meetings to ensure Wimbledon stays high on their agenda. We will of course keep you informed of developments.

Read more about other recent developments in our update from CEO, Helen Clark Bell.

Dementia Friends’ online resource for retailers

Dementia Friends is the biggest ever initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia

Dementia Friends is an Alzheimer’s Society initiative which aims to transform the way the nation thinks, acts and talks about dementia. Love Wimbledon is a member of the Merton Dementia Alliance and we are encouraging all public facing businesses to have Dementia Friends.

It is estimated that more than 2,000 people are likely to be living with dementia in Merton by 2020. Love Wimbledon is actively encouraging residents, businesses and organisations to get involved and learn more about how to help people with dementia in Wimbledon Town Centre. Dementia Friendly Merton is supported by Merton Council, Merton Clinical Commissioning Group and the Alzheimer’s Society.

The next Dementia Friend session will take place on Friday 20 April at 9.30am in the Centre Court Management Suite. This session will be facilitated by Jane Knight from Hallmark Care Homes.

There is also an online route to becoming a Dementia Friend  – a “digital friend” – which has been created specifically with retailers in mind, as those working in this sector can often find it difficult to attend face-to-face training and awareness sessions.

Please contact us for further information and join us to make Wimbledon a Dementia Friendly Town.

Launch of the Merton Best Business Awards 2018

This event provides a chance for all entrepreneurs and local companies to reap the benefits of their brand recognised as Merton’s best

 

With International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day falling in the same week, it has certainly turned our focus to the fairer folk of our town.

I was privileged to attend the launch of Merton Chamber’s Business Awards last Tuesday. South Thames College was filled

with #MertonBest sponsors, winners and contenders for this year’s awards. As I walked around the room, it was soon apparent how many women were running their own company or representing key businesses in the borough.

With feminine red, yellow and green outfits peppering the suits, it seemed a wonderful opportunity to gather all the women together for a photograph. I audaciously found the microphone and invited them to step forward to capture the female talent in the room.

Merton Chamber have always championed women in business and once again, this event provided a chance for all entrepreneurs and local companies to reap the benefits of their brand recognised as Merton’s best.

With the CEO of Love Wimbledon; Helen Clark-Bell, Karine Torr; Editor of Darling Magazine and the CEO of Merton Chamber; Diana Sterck, I was in good company.

In 2017 Karine Torr was the first ever winner of the Andrew Wakefield Award.

She was thrilled to be recognised for the work she does in the community.

‘I love working with the women of Wimbledon. They are innovative and feisty, making this town an exciting place to live and work’.

Likewise, Diana was keen to highlight the benefits of being an award winner. ‘It’s an easy online application and plenty of categories to choose from,’ She told me with pride.

Helen Clark-Bell, was delighted that Love Wimbledon would once again sponsor the Merton Best Business Awards. ‘Everyone likes to be recognised for their achievements and everyone loves a winner, so we will be encouraging applications from business in Wimbledon town centre to apply.’

The timing was perfect as it was International Women’s Day two days later. It was quite incredible how many women championed each other on social media and private messages from friends and family wishing them a well-deserved day of recognition for all they have achieved.

Mother’s Day seemed to repeat the same comradery, as we understood the juggle of daily life. I must admit, the strength of women supporting women in Merton is both rare and special as we champion each other’s success and genuinely care when our chips are down.

This week we raised a glass to women in business, another glass to the mothers of Merton and a pint to the men who recognise our talents as equal to theirs.

No wonder it was such a great week. Lady Wimbledon

As seen in http://www.wimbledonguardian.co.uk/news/16090408.Merton_Chamber_s_business_awards_has_been_launched/

Wimbledon business one of the ‘healthiest’ places to work in London

Wimbledon business awarded employee wellbeing award from Mayor of London.

If its recent success is anything to go by, a Wimbledon business is one of the healthiest places to work in London.

Retail IT has been recognised by the London Healthy Workplace Charter for everything from managing employees’ stress levels to something as simple as getting people to look out for each other.

The workplace charter is the first pan-London framework that supports and recognises investment in staff health and wellbeing, partnering local public health resource with employers.

The business on Wimbledon Hill Road is one of over 190 organisations that have met the standards to date.

In a letter sent to the business, it outlined some of the reasons it was given this honour.

“All of your hard work is helping to improve the health of Londoners and showcase the Charter as a valuable framework for other employers to invest in staff health and wellbeing,” the letter said.

“The verifiers were particularly impressed with great example of a supportive approach to an employee with a long-term health condition and a strong encouragement for employees to be physically active including a focus on how the environment can support this.”

 

As seen in http://www.wimbledonguardian.co.uk/news/16085930.wimbledon-business-one-of-the-healthiest-places-to-work-in-london/?ref=mr&lp=5

Wimbledon Care Home named in London Top 20

There is reason to celebrate at Queens Court Care Home.  That is because the Wimbledon facility home has been named as one of the 20 best in all of London by review site Carehome.

A score out of ten is given based on reviews from residents, plus relatives and friends.

The ranking is based on reviews from those living at the home, their relatives and friends.

Recently awarded a ‘good’ CQC rating, Queens Court general manager Shaaron Caratella was delighted that the home achieved a place on the list of top care homes in the region.

“It’s fantastic to know that recommendations from residents and their families have positioned Queens Court in the top 20 for London,” she said.

“The whole team work tirelessly to deliver the highest possible quality care and maintain a warm, homely environment for the individuals living here so we are very proud of this award.”

The reviews consider everything from cleanliness, food and drink, dignity, activities and value for money.

As seen in http://www.wimbledonguardian.co.uk/news/16085687.wimbledon-care-home-named-one-of-the-20-best-in-all-of-london/?ref=mr&lp=5