T&L Food and Culture Awards 2019 Finalists Announced

TLFCA finalists

Readers voted in their thousands for their favourite food and culture venues across South West London and Surrey, and following a record breaking five figure total of votes cast, Time & Leisure have revealed this year’s FINALISTS for the Food & Culture Awards 2019.

We are so proud to see so many of our Wimbledon businesses represented as finalists and there is no better validation than that of your customers. Very well done to you all and we can’t wait for the awards in September.

Our Wimbledon business finalists include:

 

BEST EATING EXPERIENCE IN WIMBLEDON TOWN CENTRE (our Sponsored category)

Bill’s

Buenos Aires

Diba

G like Gelato

Little Greece, Love Wimbledon Market

Pabellon, Love Wimbledon Market

Roxie Steak

San Lorenzo

Sticks n Sushi

The Alexandra

 

BEST FINE DINING RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

San Lorenzo

 

BEST PUB

The Alexandra

 

BEST FAMILY FRIENDLY RESTAURANT

Al Forno

Bill’s

San Lorenzo

The Alexandra

 

BEST SERVICE

The Alexandra

 

BEST NEWCOMER

601 Queen’s Rd

G like Gelato

Roxie Steak

 

BEST NIGHT OUT

CMYK

SMASH

 

FAMILY ATTRACTION OF THE YEAR

Polka Theatre

Wimbledon Winter Wonderland

 

THE TONY KANE CULTURAL EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR

Polka Theatre

Wimbledon BookFest

 

PERFORMANING ARTS VENUE OF THE YEAR

New Wimbledon Theatre

Polka Theatre

 

Click here to find out all the businesses who have made the finalists list.

Love Wimbledon Relaunch Business Website

Mobile screenshot small

A better experience for you

We have relaunched the BID pages of our website packed with information about who we are, what we are here to do, how we support our BID businesses and how we achieve our aims and objectives. Using desktop or mobile you can continue to access important resources such as our Annual Report and BID Proposal and now we have added more content and easy to navigate NEW sections including:

Promote Your Business

Outlining all options that Love Wimbledon offer your business to get your brand noticed. From advertising and sponsorship to awards, partnering in our events and our employee Privilege card scheme, to your exclusive discounted rates on outdoor advertising via Global.

Business Services

Following the release of our Business Services brochure our website now lists all the services available to BID businesses. From cost saving schemes on waste, recycling and joint procurement, find information on what your Merton Chamber of Commerce membership offers you, how we work to improve Wimbledon and our marketing & promotional activity.

Choose Wimbledon

Part of our inward investment strategy is to promote what a great place Wimbledon is for business. We shout about the fantastic brands and businesses we have, what attracts investors & developers to Wimbledon and how we’re working to shape the future of Wimbledon Town Centre.

Campaigns

As a BID we are the voice for the Wimbledon business community and we lobby on your behalf on issues that matter to you. You can read about our work on issues including air quality, cleaning improvements, Crossrail 2, delivery bikes, healthy workplace and sustainability, parking and the police station.

We love hearing from our BID businesses and are here to help, so do get in touch info@lovewimbledon.org or 020 8619 2012.

Google Helping Town Centres

A New Era for Place Management Support

Following months of collaboration through events, we are delighted to announce that Google has become a member of ATCM. Google will join hundreds of councils, Business Improvement Districts and place managers across the UK and Ireland, all striving to ensure the economic and social health of our town centres.

ATCM Summer School

Alison Lomax, Director of Lifestyle Retail at Google, speaking at #FutureConsumer – the 2019 ATCM Summer School

Google has already supported a number of recent ATCM events including ‘The ATCM Cities Summit: The Fourth Industrial Revolution?’ and ‘The ATCM Summer School: #FutureConsumer’ and has worked with individual members such as Solihull BID. Becoming part of the network will allow the two organisations to further develop the support they can provide high street businesses and place managers.

Google Digital Garage visits Stockport

Google Digital Garage visits Stockport

Ojay McDonald, CEO of ATCM said:

“This is huge for us. During our conference ‘Pathway to Resilience: Shaping the Post-Brexit Urban Economy’ in 2017, artificial intelligence and it’s impact on towns and cities was identified as a key strategic issue which ATCM needs to play a leading role in. Our subsequent research opened up a pandoras box of issues relating to disruptive technology such as the transition to a cashless society, the growth of drone use in the urban environment, the transformative effect of social media on Generation Z and the impact on employment and skills.

With their work to support small high street businesses through the Digital Garage Tour, we decided to reach out to Google as a potential partner, and they have been very receptive. It is clear to us that in an age where there is so much change, where town centres are exposed to an industrial revolution, to count on the support of a company which is both a product of, and provocateur in, this revolution gives us a fighting chance of turning the tide.”

Google Digital Garage

Ronan Harris, Google UK & Ireland Managing Director said:

“Google is committed to supporting high streets and small businesses as already demonstrated by the Digital Garage Tour and so this partnership makes sense. Having the right digital skills can have a transformative impact on business growth and job creation. Our hope is that by providing dedicated, tailored training through the Digital Garage we can help bring new growth to high streets across the country.

Despite the ongoing uncertainty posed by Brexit, we want to show businesses on high streets how digital skills can help them to thrive, not just as a place for commerce, but also as a cultural centerpiece of the communities that they serve.”

ATCM will be working with the team at Google over the coming months to put in place a programme of practical support for members. We believe that there is already many great tools which we can use, for free, through Google, but we need to ensure our members are given the support needed to maximise these opportunities.

This could be an important step in the support provided to our members.

CEO ATCM and Heaf od YouTube

Ojay McDonald, CEO of ATCM and Anais Hayes, Head of YouTube CPGA

Why Google Matters – The Love Wimbledon Case Study

By Helen Clark Bell, CEO of Love Wimbledon and Vice Chair of ATCM London

Death of the High Street. Declining footfall. Major chains closing. Online retail increasing. 

As a BID we decided that we had to find opportunities to defy these national trends and ensure that Wimbledon Town Centre remained a strong and attractive destination.

The Internet is often seen as a detractor for high streets and town centres, but we saw an opportunity to use this to our advantage. How do we look for a restaurant? What’s on at the cinema? Look for shop opening hours and locations? We ‘google’ it! What happens if the restaurant has bad reviews or the cinema is in the wrong location or the shop is not listed or worse still closed down but is still listed? We increasingly rely on the Internet to be accurate and guide us, but if this information is not up to date we get frustrated and become negative about our experience.

Wimbledon Town Centre

As a Business Improvement District, we are best placed to know exactly what is happening on the high street with our businesses and Google gives us the opportunity to share our knowledge and update the Internet for everyone’s benefit.

The first task was to ensure that every business was located on Google Maps where they were in reality. It was amazing how many businesses had been listed or located in completely the wrong place. In doing this there were a number of businesses that were either not listed at all or that had closed down years ago. By cleansing these listings we were able to identify those businesses that had not claimed their Google Business listing and may have been receiving reviews they knew nothing about – not great customer service!

Google my Business image

As a Google Local Guide, we have become the authority and curator of Wimbledon local business listings on the biggest search engine in the world. Listing businesses accurately the day they open and notifying Google the day they close ensures the Google search for businesses in Wimbledon is exemplary.

The next step that we have just started to provide is a service that delivers 360 degree photos of the interior of the business. Saving £400 per business and offering a bespoke local service is how locations can build their ranking and use the Internet to support business and attract footfall. Having taken 360 degree photos for 36 businesses, we have already had nearly 300,000 views in just 4 months.

When the 600 photos we have submitted about local businesses have received around 2,500,000 views, it is difficult to argue that this form of marketing is not having a positive impact on place management.

Find our more about ATCM – association of town & city management.

Mayor Launches Good Work Standard

Mayors Good Work Standard

The Mayor’s scheme sets a high bar for employment standards and supports good employers.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has launched his Good Work Standard – a benchmark for high employment standards, with fair pay at its heart – and has urged employers of all sizes and sectors to join him in his mission to make London the best city in the world in which to work.

 

A range of public, private and third-sector employers have already signed up to the scheme. These include major financial firms EY, KPMG and Schroders, electronics retailer Richer Sounds, family-run care provider SilverBirch Healthcare, London City Airport, Unison, several London boroughs and the functional bodies in the Greater London Authority family (including the Metropolitan Police Service, Transport for London and London Fire Brigade).

 

The Good Work Standard has a set of criteria covering fair pay and conditions, wellbeing, skills and progression, and diversity and recruitment. It has been developed in collaboration with London’s employers, trade unions and professional bodies and sets the benchmark the Mayor wants every London employer to achieve, including paying all staff at least the London Living Wage, currently £10.55 an hour.

 

While setting a high bar for accredited employers, it also brings together best practice and support from across London to help employers improve their organisations. It has the support of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which is developing a toolkit for organisations who wish to take part.

 

Achieving the Good Work Standard will bring a range of benefits. In addition to public recognition by the Mayor, the high standards set out will help organisations to attract and retain talent, reduce absenteeism, and achieve higher levels of employee engagement, motivation, and productivity.

 

To sit alongside the Good Work Standard, the Mayor will soon launch the Employment Rights Hub, which will help Londoners understand their rights at work and what action is available to them when those rights are infringed upon.

 

The Mayor has also launched the Healthy Workplace Award, an initiative which provides a benchmark for encouraging healthier lifestyles and is aligned with the Good Work Standard.

 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Tackling poverty and inequality is one of the reasons I got into politics. London and the whole country are still simply too unequal – and it is bad for our both our economy and our society. I want to make London a fairer city by ensuring that all Londoners get the opportunities that our city gave to me when I was growing up.

 

“The Good Work Standard will play a key role in tackling poverty and inequality in London. I’m calling on employers across our city to play their part – to pay the London Living Wage, to pursue greater diversity at senior levels, to achieve the highest standards in wellbeing and training, and to ensure that their workers have a voice in the workplace.

 

“Employers will make these changes because they want to do the right thing, but also because they will see great benefit in terms of recruitment and productivity. City Hall will now do everything possible to ensure that many more employers – in every sector and of every size – sign up to the Good Work Standard.”

 

Chief Executive of the CIPD, Peter Cheese, said: “We’re delighted to have worked with the Mayor and his team in developing the Good Work Standard. Work can and should be a force for good, and the Standard helps define the critical attributes of what makes good work and jobs. Employers should always be looking at ways in which they can improve job quality and how they support their people as part of their duty of care to the workforce, but it also makes good business sense.

 

“Now more than ever we need to make our organisations great places to work, to engage our people, help develop their skills, support their wellbeing and build the inclusive workplaces that are good for everyone. These are the drivers of sustainable and responsible businesses, as well as a stronger economy and society for the future. We look forward to continuing to further this agenda and doing our part in supporting organisations in improving the quality of jobs in the capital.” 

Read the full press release here.

Merton Best Business Announce 2019 Finalists

Photo of MBBA winners 2018

With a record number of entries to this years Merton Best Business Awards, we are delighted to announce so many of our BID and town centre businesses have been named finalists. This year saw new categories launched for large businesses in the borough to enter and we’re thrilled to see our BID businesses represented here.

The judges were once again impressed with the calibre of entries and the competition was certainly tough. Many congratulations to all our businesses, we wish you the very best of luck and we look forward to celebrating with you when the winners are announced at the Gala Dinner on Thursday 26 September at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Tickets are now available.

 

Best Apprentice of the Year

TWM Solicitors 
White Light Ltd

 

Best Customer Service

Coffee in the Wood
Esente Hair
Kerryanns Beauty
Prince of Wales
RyGas Ltd
Welter Brovine Hairdesigners

 

Best Employer of the Year

Esente Hair
Fayre & Square Wimbledon 
SW19 Estate Agents Ltd

 

Best Enterprising Business

Arkenstone Wealth Management
Belderbos Landscapes
Fayre & Square Wimbledon 
Finling Associates Limited 
RyGas Ltd
stem4  

 

Best in the Creative Sector

Belderbos Landscapes
Katja Nuutinen Couture
Polka Theatre 
Rainbow Productions Ltd
Room Remedies
SANTORO 
Taylor Alden 
The Sing Space

 

Best Large Business

Domestic & General 
Iglu.com 
itsu

 

Best Medium Business

Gina Conway Aveda Salon & Spa
Merco Medical Staffing
SANTORO

 

Best New Business

Zéro
Cause Communications
Fitness Space Wimbledon 
Lewis & Co
The Supply Room

 

Best Pub of the Year

All Bar One 
Ganley’s Irish Bar
Prince of Wales 
The Alexandra 
The Hand & Racquet
The Old Frizzle

 

Best Restaurant of the Year

Aya Cuisine
Blue Junction
Lu-Ma Cafe 
NYEAT
Pho 
Sai Restaurant

 

Best Service Excellence

Figges Marsh Dental
Finling Associates Limited 
Gina Conway Aveda Salon & Spa 
SPS Timber Windows Limited
Swords Travel
The Alexandra 
Wimbledon Leisure Centre and Spa 
Wimbledon Village Stables

 

Best Small Business

Cullens Clearances Ltd
Liqui Liqui
Mystery Cube
Stronger Fitness and Martial Arts
Swords Travel
Voice At The Table

 

Entrepreneur of the Year

Blue Wave Swim School
Really Helpful Club
RyGas Ltd

 

Positive Workplace

Lu-Ma Cafe 
Microbee Ltd
Peldon Rose 
Skyline Whitespace

 

The Extra Mile

Cullens Clearances Ltd
Esente Hair
Izzytea Ltd
Kew House Care Home
Really Helpful Club
The Alexandra 
Wimbledon Village Stables

 

Top Woman in Business

Ameeka – Figges Marsh Dental
Marjan Moosavi – Blue Wave Swim School
Charlotte Broadbent – Charlotte Loves
Tricia Cusden – Look Fabulous Forever 
Julie Greenwood – Merco Medical Staffing Ltd
Dr Nihara Krause – stem4
Wendy Pridmore – Wimbledon Guild

 

Merton Best Business Awards Announce 2019 Finalists

See the 2018 BID Business Finalists

Merton Council declares a Climate Change Emergency

Merton Council Declares Climate Emergency

Climate Emergency Declaration – Where do we go from here?

On 10th July, Councillors voted unanimously to declare a climate emergency. The support for this cross-party motion from all corners of the borough shows how urgent the problem is, and how important it is to reduce the impact that the borough has on climate change.

The declaration stated our intention to decarbonise the borough by 2050.  We know that the Council cannot achieve this alone. 97.5% of Merton’s emissions come from the buildings we live and work in, and the vehicles we drive. This means the personal choices we all make about the way we live, travel, shop and deal with waste matter.

We also know that the Council has a key role to play in helping change happen. The Council will seek to decarbonise its own buildings, transport and services by 2030. By doing this we hope to demonstrate how we can overcome challenges and grasp the opportunities that green growth has to offer.  We also want to support real and lasting change through the way in which we serve the needs of  the borough.

Over the coming months we will be developing an action plan to set out how we  intend to decarbonise the borough by 2050. You can get involved in the ways set out below.

(1) We are looking to form a climate emergency working group which will provide input and challenge into the process.  This will be our main way to consider, with members of the borough, the key direction and prioritisation of possible actions for the plan. We will accept applications for the working group up to 9 August, with the first meeting taking place in late September.

(2) We want to know what you think you, and the Council, should do to reduce our carbon emissions. To capture these views, we intend to issue an online survey in September.

(3) We want to learn about activities which are already being carried out by Merton’s residents and businesses to tackle climate change. Hearing about existing projects in the borough will help us share ideas with others and  accelerate change.  If people want to share lessons learnt, or are looking to initiate action and want some input from the Council, please contact one of our climate officers at Future.Merton@merton.gov.uk.

Read Merton Council’s News Room release https://news.merton.gov.uk/2019/07/10/merton-council-declares-a-climate-change-emergency/

For more information about how you can take part, please go to Merton Council’s  Climate Emergency web page https://www.merton.gov.uk/planning-and-buildings/sustainability-and-climate-change

There has never been a better time to act, and we look forward to working with you over the coming months.

Climate Emergency Working Group

Merton Council will be drafting a Climate Change Action Plan to set out how they intend to make the London Borough of Merton carbon neutral by 2050. To advise on the development of the Action Plan and communicate ideas and feedback from the wider Merton Community, Merton Council will be forming a A Climate Emergency Working Group.

Find out more and how you can apply.

 

Deliveroo Progress Update July 2019

Working with Merton Council we have managed to secure some additional motorbike parking bays in Hartfield Road car park to enable food delivery bikes to wait there for orders to come through. Drivers have been asked by Deliveroo to use these bays during the next two weeks, with the tennis buses using the loading bays on Wimbledon Bridge, it is an opportunity to accommodate them there instead and use it as a permanent location in the future. Love Wimbledon will also be arranging a workshop for local riders to attend to explain in person the issues we are experiencing and build better relationships with them.

Read our previous update from May 2019.

July CEO Update from Helen

Wimbledon town centre really does come alive at this time of year and we work hard to ensure the town is presented well. You will have seen our pavements being jetwashed (see more) and this year we have taken it upon ourselves to clean, repaint and dress the taxi shelter at Wimbledon station (see more). This along with the rainbow pedestrian crossing makes Wimbledon a town we can all be proud of, particularly at this time of year.

Our Big Screen is set up and ready to welcome you once again to The Piazza to catch all the live coverage from The Championships. This year we’re serving up a double with our Big Screen sponsors Elmlea, whose head office (and BID business) Upfield is based in Wimbledon Town Centre. Thank you to Abbottswood Flooring, another of our BID businesses, for their terrific service and expert fitting of the astroturf (see more) on The Piazza. We’re proud of these local partnerships as we work hard to connect BID businesses to our busy events calendar.

Bid Screen 2019

I attended the Merton Council scrutiny meeting for the report of the parking consultation last week and it looks like the proposals will be approved and accepted for implementation in September. This is particularly disappointing for Wimbledon as many parking costs will increase by 100%. I will update you more on this as soon as we have further confirmation. (Read our response to the Parking Consultation).

To finish on a positive note, I attended a reception at the Houses of Parliament hosted by Jake Berry MP who confirmed that BIDs are very important to the economic development of town centres and that those area that have Business Improvement Districts are responding well to the changes in retail.

We look forward to seeing you on a deckchair or a picnic bench very soon!

Find out more about our Big Screen Tennis and Summer Sit Out and other Summer Events.