West End to receive £2.9bn ‘rebirth’ fund

In its Oxford Street 2022: The Vibrant Future report, the New West End Company says the capital’s famous shopping district is due to receive £2.9bn in investment over the next 1,000 days.

The funding will be split between investment from new developments, as well as £150m over the next three years from Westminster City Council on public realm works in the district.

The West End is also due to be reclassified as an “international centre”, which will allow for mixed-use developments and new operators to take space alongside traditional high street retailers.

New West End Company boss Jace Tyrell says the district is about to embark on the “biggest transformation” it has seen in over 50 years. But while the future might look rosy, Oxford Street currently has a number of voids and last week fresh delays were announced to Crossrail.

West End revival

The New West End Company says £1bn will be spent on Oxford Street itself, with the remaining £1.9bn being spent on redevelopments in other parts of the district, such as the mixed-use office and retail development at Hanover Square and the 285,000 sq ft Soho Place scheme, which will sit on top of Tottenham Court Road station.

Work is also being done to make the streets less congested with traffic by cutting the number of bus routes and focusing on creating a zero-emissions transport zone.

The council and the mayor of London are also due to re-classify the West End as an “international centre” by the end of 2020. This will allow for landlords and occupiers to “fundamentally change” the use of physical space in the area.

With the street having been dominated since the 19th century by retail, non-retailers will now be able to take space on Oxford Street. More mixed-use developments, including food and beverage and leisure operators, will bring “greater flexibility” to the street.

The New West End Company argue this will add value to retailers by making the street “a more vibrant shopping destination, with an invigorated evening economy and longer dwell times”.

The reclassification will also allow for retailers to “extend stores upwards and offer far more than just traditional retail with a new flexibility on store uses”.

This will come too late for several retail occupiers on Oxford Street, which has seen a rash of closures in the last few years. HMV and Forever 21 have left notable empty flagships on the street, while some have questioned whether the slew of candy and souvenir shops at the east end of the famous shopping thoroughfare is damaging its reputation.

Crossrail boost

The report estimates Crossrail will bring an additional 60 million visits to the West End annually.

It also predicts a 59% increase in passengers to Bond Street station and a 65% increase at Tottenham Court Road by 2022.

The New West End Company says this will bring a £4bn boost to the district’s economy over the next three years. However, the entire construction of the Crossrail project has long been dogged by delays.

In early November, chief executive Mark Wild said the project would not be completed by 2020 and costs had risen by £650m. The project is now due to cost £18.25bn, more than £2bn over budget.

While Crossrail has been a drain on the public purse and a source of frustration for existing operators, head of retail consultancy at Harper Dennis Hobbs, Jonathan De Mello, says Crossrail will more evenly distribute footfall across the district.

“Right now, we see a big concentration in footfall around Oxford Circus, which sees around 250 million visitors a year. There are areas in the West End which get huge amounts of footfall, and others which don’t.

“Having more people visit Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road will see a transference of footfall across the other parts of the district. This, in turn, will alleviate pressure across Oxford Street station and enable people to shop and stay longer, because they know the transport will be less congested.”