Embrace the £2.9bn transformation of the West End

Over the next 1,000 days, £2.9bn is set to be invested into the West End, including vital infrastructure improvements, public realm enhancements and private sector investments. This will cement Oxford Street’s position as a global shopping and leisure destination that is consistently leading through innovation. With Crossrail bringing 60m additional visits into the district once fully operational in 2021 and Westminster City Council committing £150m to reducing congestion, enhancing public spaces and improving air quality, we are forecasting that annual West End sales will surge to £13.2bn by 2022. Part of this transformation is due to the new classification of Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street as an “international centre” in Westminster City Council’s and the mayor of London’s draft city plans. This new approach demonstrates the West End’s vital contribution to the UK economy, which currently generates more than £9bn in sales, employs in excess of 150,000 people and attracts over 200m visitors a year. The “international centre” definition is a real game-changer for the area and will provide a clear framework for advocating future West End growth policies. The classification outlines specific policies for commercial development and flexibility of building uses, for the first time enabling ground floors and frontages to include leisure, cultural or community spaces, showrooms or hotels. It also enables retailers to extend stores upwards, offering new opportunities in an area which lacks space for new developments. We estimate that more than 96,000 new jobs could be created as a direct result of the additional commercial space achieved through greater height and density of the buildings. Furthermore, whole buildings will be utilised to serve the customer around the clock, while ensuring that traders and property owners still remain good neighbours. West End businesses will be able to offer far more than just traditional retail, supporting more services and experiences for our consumers. Evolution of retail This alteration to planning policy is crucial as the retail sector continues to evolve at a faster pace than ever before. We are already seeing how the demand for new experiences and the shift online is influencing the tenant mix on Oxford Street and in the wider West End. It is increasingly moving away from souvenir shops towards more food, leisure and experiential-led offerings. In just the past few weeks we have had three new openings demonstrating this: Market Hall, the UK’s largest food hall, opened last week offering 1,000 seats, a roof terrace and event spaces in the former BHS building; Adidas LDN is the brand’s most technologically advanced store, with 27,000 sq ft of digitally led innovations, such as interactive mirrors in changing rooms; Selfridges will be opening a three-screen cinema this week, the first time a department store anywhere in the world is to permanently accommodate such a facility. The days of back-to-back flagship retail are numbered. Brands we’ve never heard of and services and experiences we’ve never thought of will take us on a journey, rather than just a destination to shop. Existing brand temples that offer more than just products, engage with shoppers and offer exciting reasons to visit will thrive. We are not saying that London’s West End is beyond the wider malaise of the retail sector. However, the West End’s vibrant mixed-use nature is what will ensure its future, and this £2.9bn investment from the public and private sectors will catalyse the birth of a new West End. In the next five years there will be more change than in the past 50 years, so now is the time for the real estate sector to seize the opportunity. The customer will be so spoilt and the globe will look upon this transformation as a great case study in true urban renaissance. It is a truly transformative moment for the most renowned shopping and leisure centre in the world. For more information on the future of Oxford Street, click here to read the Oxford Street 2022: The Vibrant Future report Jace Tyrrell is chief executive of New West End Company Photo: Marcin Wziontek/Shutterstock