Bromley North hopeful of securing Mary Portas funding (From News Shopper)

Bromley North hopeful of securing Mary Portas funding

2:46pm Sunday 1st July 2012 in Business News By Robert Fisk

MOMENTUM is building to bring fashion designers and entrepreneurial youths together in a bid for Bromley North to become a Mary Portas town.

The town team put in their bid to the retail marketing consultant by last Saturday’s deadline (June 30).

And now they have an anxious wait to find out if their scheme is deemed good enough to be one of the 15 towns to secure £100,000 funding.

Their plan is to use one of the empty units in the Bromley North area of the High Street and use part of it as a shop where up and coming designers can sell their wares.

The other part would be turned into a centre where youngsters can get help to develop their business ideas.

McDonald’s franchise owner Tonina Hoang is leading the project and said: “There is a lot of antisocial behaviour in Bromley and we thought we could have the shop unit on the same site as the one for entrepreneurial people on the fringes of society.

“They have some great ideas and if we can show them a degree of belonging and help develop them then we can give them an impetus to improve.”

This is the second time Bromley North has bid for funding from Mary Portas, who has been given the job of championing town centres by the government.

Ms Hoang is confident the town team will win the money this time around.

She added: “We know we have a lot to offer and we are doing our best.

“We have a lot of support and commitment and we have momentum.”