How the West End can be an oasis for its shoppers

Peter Bill
12 Jun 2009

The Westminster Property Association is not known for its largesse. That is perhaps why Boris Johnson's eyebrows disappeared under his fringe on Tuesday when he was offered cash to spruce up the West End by a group whose members have given a less-than-generous response to his demand to pay a £20-per-square-foot development levy for Crossrail.

The offer came from WPA chairman Robert Noel of Great Portland Estates. He said that big property owners in the area would not be averse to part-funding the creation of a series of proposed "oases": these take the form of up to a dozen newly pedestrianised spots for the weary to refuel in watering holes that would naturally spring up in a fume-free climate.

The deal has a thick piece of string attached. Developers already part-fund  improvements to the public realm via a £10-per-square-foot levy for each extra square foot of space they are given permission to build.

The catch in Noel's proposal is that the "oases" money would be credited against any future payments.

Mayor Boris heard what he called a "very useful and interesting" idea at a half-day seminar set up by the New West End Company in the colonnaded ballroom of the Langham Hotel.

The organisation, run by Dame Judith Mayhew, is charged with improving the West End for the benefit of the businesses who pay for its upkeep.

Dame Judith is clearly vexed about the lack of urgency shown by Westminster City Council and Transport for London (head; Boris Johnson) over NWEC plans to make the West End a good deal more pedestrian friendly. So, with the Olympics just 1000 days away, she presumably thought staging a conference would provide a good opportunity to prod both parties.

So 150 or so of those who matter were invited along to the Langham to listen politely to Boris and Seb Coe, chairman of Locog. But the real agenda was to present a report which backs the NWEC's firm conviction that the only way to really improve the West End is to pedestrianise Oxford Street and hugely increase the amount of pavement space elsewhere.

The succinct 32-page document from Locum Consulting proposes nine pieces of largely window dressing that could be done by 2012. Play sculptures in Oxford Street, that sort of thing. But there are nine post-2012 ideas of more substance, the "Golden Loop" idea of linking Bond Street and Regent Street via Burlington Gardens being one.

Locum reaches the heart of the matter in its nine "strategic initiatives".

the ones closest to Dame Judith's heart are a fivefold increase in the amount of pavement space in the roads around Oxford Street and "a once in a lifetime opportunity" to close the street itself to traffic.

For obvious reasons Transport for London is not keen, although boss Peter Hendy has already agreed to cut the number of buses in Oxford Street by a fifth.

Westminster council has been also been quietly resisting pedestrian power for years: we don't want traffic re-routed along streets containing voters, do we? Councillors, you might not

Mega-project will take 20 years, and they haven't even found a name yet

One of the biggest planning applications London has ever seen was due to be lodged next week with Barnet council. But developer Hammerson and its partner, Canadian property company Brookfield, have delayed for a month the dispatch of the drawings which detail the £4 billion Cricklewood Brent Cross scheme.

What's another month? For what is proposed for the redundant shunting yards to the east of the Midland main line from Hendon station down to Cricklewood station will take 20 years to build. That space and more besides will be filled by a huge extension to Brent Cross shopping centre and, below that, the building of a new town centre to include 7500 homes and three new schools.

No one has yet come up with a better name than the boringly obvious Cricklewood Brent Cross for these 373 acres of north London, which will boast its own brand new station.

However, some locals are already upset at the plans, which were first outlined in March last year. Protesters say the development will bring in another 29,000 cars per day to the area. Friends of the Earth is already objecting to a planned incinerator.

Hammerson will no doubt counter with the 27,000 new jobs created, and that it's not an incinerator, it's a planet-saving combined heat and power station; so there.

Either way, the debate is likely to heat up once the detailed plans are lodged. There is a small danger that such a large scheme will be delayed by the government demanding an inquiry. But Barnet council is deeply in favour, saying it will "create a new gateway for London and a vibrant urban area in Barnet". Never mind that. Come up with a vibrant name.

Nip in quick if you are looking for a decent office deal

Two bits of good news in an otherwise gloomy report from property agent DTZ: if you fancy buying an office block in London, now is the time - if you can raise a mortgage. If you are renting offices, it's time to press for a lower rent - if the lease is due to expire.

Each June, DTZ produces the definitive Money into Property report, which tracks the cash circulating in commercial real estate around 38 countries. No wonder the agent is gloomy. Global transactions fell by 85% to $30 billion between autumn 2007 and spring 2009. Think of all those lost fees.

But every cloud... The price of office blocks in central London will have crashed by 40% by next year - and so will rents. Those buying just have to make sure the tenant has a lease where the rent is fixed for another five to 10 years. Those renting, whose lease expires in the next 12 to 18 months, should begin to have a conversation with their landlord about a rent reduction right away - well before rents start to rise again.