Portman and Moco given go-ahead for new museum on Oxford Street

The Portman Estate and Moco Museum have been granted approval by Westminster City Council to create a new museum of modern and contemporary art on Oxford Street, W1. The council gave the go-ahead for the Portman Estate to change the use of its recently completed One Marble Arch development to accommodate the independent museum. This will be the first Moco Museum in the UK. Like its other locations in Amsterdam’s Museumplein and Palacio Cervelló in Barcelona, the site will offer inspiring modern, contemporary and digital immersive art aimed at attracting broader and younger audiences. A joint planning application for the conversion was submitted in August 2023. Tom Knight, portfolio director at the Portman Estate, said the partnership would “bring an exciting new leisure offer to the Portman Estate” and “further enhance Marble Arch and Oxford Street, enlivening and adding to the already thriving arts and culture hub growing in this pocket of the West End”. The London museum at One Marble Arch is due to open in 2024. To send feedback, e-mail chante.bohitige@eg.co.uk or tweet @bohitige