Oxford Street £150m revamp begins to boost post-lockdown recovery

Oxford Street revamp begins: Workmen widen pavements on London’s busiest shopping street during first stage of £150m overhaul to boost post-lockdown recovery

  • Westminster council has ambitious plans to revamp Oxford Street in time for the reopening of the retail sector
  • The £150m regeneration features an 80ft artificial mound on Marble Arch for tourists to enjoy sweeping views
  • But there are no plans in place for the 100,000sq ft flagship Topshop store, after Arcadia’s dramatic collapse 
  • Marks & Spencer consulting on proposals to redevelop its Marble Arch store with office space on top floors 
  • Al fresco dining to spring up across areas including Soho’s Dean Street, Old Compton Street and Greek Street

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Work is well underway on a £150 million project to transform Oxford Street as council bosses issue a clarion call for shoppers and diners to return to the area post-lockdown.   

West End businesses are desperate to start welcoming back customers after months of lockdown starved them of billions of pounds of footfall. 

And al fresco dining, ‘pocket parks’, an arts centre and an 82ft artificial hill are among the ambitious plans from Westminster Council in a bid to entice tourists back to the Capital this summer. 

Diggers arrived this week to get started on the £150m ‘fightback’ strategy to regenerate the 1.2mile street with pop-up parks, more pedestrian space and ‘green projects’.

The project, which was unveiled last month, includes ‘additional pedestrian space, pop up parks, new lighting, landscaping, greening projects and cultural space’. 

The council is also set to construct an 82ft hill, dubbed the Marble Arch Mound, which promises Londoners sweeping views for six months between summer and Christmas.

But a number of iconic High Street stalwarts will remain empty after lockdown decimated the retail sector.

Construction gets underway on Oxford Street in a bid to transform London’s busiest shopping street to offer more space to pedestrians, and attract shoppers post-pandemic

Diggers arrived this week to get started on the u00A3150m 'fightback' strategy to regenerate the 1.2mile street with pop-up parks, more pedestrian space and 'green projects'

Diggers arrived this week to get started on the £150m ‘fightback’ strategy to regenerate the 1.2mile street with pop-up parks, more pedestrian space and ‘green projects’

What else will the £150m Oxford St development include? 

  • Extended footways for pedestrians 
  • Increase in plants and green areas
  • Bright banners to ‘create a sense of place and aesthetic continuity’
  • ‘Urban theatres’ for outdoor performances, kitted out with lighting
  • Landscaping
  • Pop-up restaurants 
  • More electric charging points
  • Zero-carbon retrofitting of heritage buildings 
  • Trial installations
  • Remove unnecessary signage 

Plans are yet to be submitted for the flagship Topshop store, which closed indefinitely following the collapse of billionaire tycoon Philip Green’s Arcadia group. 

Councillors have submitted proposals to turn the flagship Debenhams store into an arts centre after it went into liquidation at the end of last year.  

And John Lewis and Marks & Spencer are set to to give up some of their space to offices after sinking to losses totalling more than £600million during the pandemic.   

Westminster Council has also said it will resurrect last year’s hugely popular move to allow hundreds of venues to expand outdoor seating capacity by spilling onto the road.

The al fresco dining scheme will begin on April 12, when Boris Johnson hopes to reopen hospitality for outdoor service, and stretch into the summer months.

It means modest West End pubs without beer gardens will still be able to open at the earliest possible point by applying for these pavement licences.

That restaurants were allowed to make use of the street proved a lifeline to hundreds of businesses last year amid tight restrictions on indoor gatherings.

Jace Tyrrell, Chief Executive at New West End Company which represents 600 businesses, said: ‘Breaking the ground on Westminster City Council’s £150 million Oxford Street District transformation is a huge milestone as central London starts its recovery. 

‘The past 12 months have been the toughest on record for businesses on Oxford Street and the surrounding area, and these ambitious plans are a sign of a forward thinking, sustainable and agile future for the district, creating an altogether stronger and more exciting high street that caters to the needs of the ever-evolving consumer.’

‘This continued level of investment highlights the West End’s ongoing influence over the prosperity of our economy and communities across the UK, and will ensure that the district, and its world famous streets, remain competitive on the global stage.’

And al fresco dining, 'pocket parks', an arts centre and an 80ft artificial hill are among the ambitious plans from Westminster Council to transform the space

And al fresco dining, ‘pocket parks’, an arts centre and an 80ft artificial hill are among the ambitious plans from Westminster Council to transform the space 

Despite the huge u00A3150 million project, a number of iconic High Street stalwarts will remain closed

Despite the huge £150 million project, a number of iconic High Street stalwarts will remain closed 

Roll up for the Marble Arch ‘mound’: Council unveils plans for ‘temporary’ 82ft-high HILL at the entrance to Oxford Street providing panoramic views of Hyde Park, Mayfair and Marylebone for six months to coax visitors back to London this summer 

Dubbed the Marble Arch Mound, it will tower at 82ft and promises Londoners with sweeping views for six months between summer and Christmas (artist's design)

Dubbed the Marble Arch Mound, it will tower at 82ft and promises Londoners with sweeping views for six months between summer and Christmas (artist’s design)

Westminster Council chiefs are hoping that curbs are loosened enough for them to welcome visitors to the mound. Pictured: Plans for the mound

Westminster Council chiefs are hoping that curbs are loosened enough for them to welcome visitors to the mound. Pictured: Plans for the mound

By Jack Elsom for MailOnline

With lockdown sucking the life from the nation’s high streets, nobody could accuse bosses warning of lasting economic scarring of making mountains out of molehills.

Yet this is the brainwave of one London council – which last month revealed plans to plant an enormous hill by Oxford Street to coax tourists back to the West End this summer.

Dubbed the Marble Arch Mound, it will tower at 82ft and promises Londoners sweeping views for six months between summer and Christmas.

The temporary Marble Arch Mound is the centrepiece of the blueprint drawn up by Westminster Council to jump start tourism when restrictions are eased. 

Subject to planning approval, they believe the hill will be climbed by 200,000 people, who will likely have to pay a small nominal charge.

No exact cost has been calculated, although a spokesperson said it will run to ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’.

The mound is the centrepiece of a master-plan drawn up by Westminster Council to jump start tourism when restrictions are eased (artist’s design)

Council leader Rachael Robathan said: 'Our proposed Marble Arch Hill temporary visitor attraction at Marble Arch signifies our ambitious approach to the District. It will be important for bringing in visitors to support the local economy.' Pictured: An impression of what the mound will look like

Council leader Rachael Robathan said: ‘Our proposed Marble Arch Hill temporary visitor attraction at Marble Arch signifies our ambitious approach to the District. It will be important for bringing in visitors to support the local economy.’ Pictured: An impression of what the mound will look like

Council leader Rachael Robathan said: ‘Our proposed Marble Arch Hill temporary visitor attraction at Marble Arch signifies our ambitious approach to the District. It will be important for bringing in visitors to support the local economy.’

She hailed the West End as the ‘engine of the London economy’ but warned it had been hard hit by the pandemic. 

Westminster Council insists the cost to build the mound is justified and that funding will come from the Capital Budget which has been earmarked for the Oxford Street development and will not divert cash from day-to-day vital services. 

There are no plans to close Oxford Street and the Council does not believe the mound will affect the rough sleepers in Marble Arch. 

Kay Buxton, chief executive of Marble Arch London BID, said: ‘We are proud to be working with Westminster City Council to create a truly unique and once in a lifetime opportunity to see London from a completely new perspective.

‘Marble Arch Hill is a clarion call to the recovery of London’s hospitality and leisure sector, in an enduring, world-renowned destination.’

No exact cost has been calculated, although a spokesperson said it will run to 'hundreds of thousands of pounds'. Pictured: First, the park will be extended onto the mound area

No exact cost has been calculated, although a spokesperson said it will run to ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’. Pictured: First, the park will be extended onto the mound area 

Secondly, the mound will be raised.u00A0Covid was especially bruising for tourist hubs like the West End, which is predominantly non-essential retail, hospitality and theatres

Secondly, the mound will be raised. Covid was especially bruising for tourist hubs like the West End, which is predominantly non-essential retail, hospitality and theatres