‘We all have to play our part’: Derwent’s CEO on reviving London’s West End

When Derwent London chief executive Paul Williams walked down Old Compton Street in Soho last summer, he was greeted by a scene that he felt more befitting of Paris or Rome than central London. Punters spilled out onto the usually traffic-filled streets, eating, drinking and enjoying the evening sun. For Williams, who yesterday took the chair of the Westminster Property Association, the spectacle brought a realisation. “It was so much more vibrant and European than usual,” he says. “Giving restaurants facilities like outdoor dining, you just felt the energy. It really gave the streets back to the people.” The loosening of licensing rules was brought in by Westminster City Council last year to help restaurants trade while enforcing social distancing. The days of the council hoping to pedestrianise Oxford Street may be long gone but, speaking to EG as he officially took the post at the WPA, Williams is keen to see Soho go al fresco again. And if that means taking a few cars off the streets, so be it. “I like the idea of creating some lungs, breathing spaces, and some public realm where people can congregate nicely and easily,” he says. “Obviously you have to think about how people get around… but if you go to Rome, Paris or other great cities people are out there enjoying themselves.” Hills to climb The WPA, though an apolitical membership body, is a key part of the district’s lobbying ecosystem. It represents big West End landowners such as Shaftesbury, Grosvenor and the Crown Estate, bringing their views to Westminster City Council and central government on a raft of property-related issues. Last month, the association came out in support of the council’s £150m Oxford Street recovery plan, a long-term blueprint for the area’s economic revival. It was spearheaded by the idea for a 25m-high temporary mound next to Marble Arch designed to bring tourists back this summer. The initiative has raised eyebrows in parts of the business community, but Williams is adamant that the pay-to-climb mound – officially named Marble Arch Hill – is worth it. “If there is something to drag people back [to the West End], I think it has got to be a good thing,” he says. “The fact that London is a slightly eclectic city makes it interesting from my point of view. There are always people who want to criticise, but I think we should celebrate it.” However, campaigners fear that it will take more than a temporary hill and some outdoor seating to reinvigorate the West End – especially with the government’s attention fixed firmly on the rest of the UK as it seeks to deliver on its promise to level up the regions. [caption id="attachment_1083308" align="aligncenter" width="847"] Diners eat al fresco on Old Compton Street in August 2020[/caption] Williams tells EG he is keen not to get involved in the politics, but he too is aware of the risk. “I think there is a perception that [London] is just a rich city. If you go to Westminster you will see some very wealthy areas. But there is lots of poverty very close,” he says. “You do not level up the country by levelling down London. You need to have a balance.” Mayor Sadiq Khan’s poor relationship with the government does not help in this regard, says Williams. According to him, Khan – who is widely regarded as a dead cert to win a second term in this year’s mayoral elections – should work towards “better coordination between the GLA and the central government”. Retaining trust Outgoing WPA chair Olivia Harris, chief executive of affordable homes charity Dolphin Living, stresses the growing inequalities in central London as an issue that needs addressing. “A lot of the impact of the pandemic has been on less well-paid workers and people from ethnic minority backgrounds,” she says. “That impact is also felt in the capital.” Moreover, she adds, there are the problems posed by the climate crisis. Tackling carbon emissions while simultaneously bringing central London back to life will be “a real challenge” in Westminster, she says, where a higher-than-average proportion of buildings are listed, and therefore harder to retrofit. Nonetheless, Williams says he has made it a top priority, and the Derwent London boss offers a word of advice for fellow landlords. “What a lot of owners should be doing is working with their occupiers,” he says. “You need to be able to encourage tenants to buy green electricity, for example. This is a big challenge going forward, but also a big opportunity.” It is this positive tone that Williams is at pains to adopt going into his new WPA role, pointing out that the association is better positioned than ever to influence policy making at a local level, after Harris’s work to help shore up the organisation’s partnership with Westminster council during her term. “Trust has been rebuilt,” he says. “The relationship between us and Westminster council is stronger. And I have to give credit to council leader Rachael Robathan for how much they [Westminster] have reached out too. “We can’t agree on everything, but there is more that aligns us than differentiates us,” he adds. “Going forward, we have all got to play our part.” To send feedback, e-mail alex.daniel@egi.co.uk or tweet @alexmdaniel or @estatesgazette Photos: WPA and James Veysey/Shutterstock