London’s Oxford Street has “no place” for “sub-standard” retail offerings such as American candy shops, the chief executive of developer Derwent has said.
Speaking in his role as chairman of the Westminster Property Association at the organisation’s annual lunch, Paul Williams pleaded for “ambitious, bold” action to be taken to reinvigorate the street, which he described as “a bellwether for the health of the West End”.
“There is no place for candy shops or similar sub-standard retail offerings,” Williams said. “This is meant to be the nation’s high street. It needs curating and managing properly.”
Shops selling imported sweets and other food, some of which have been found to sell counterfeit goods, have sprung up across the West End in recent years. Westminster City Council leader Adam Hug said this week that action to crack down on them was “having an effect”.
Derwent’s own Soho Place scheme its at one end of the street, over Tottenham Court Road station. “Others are also investing heavily in the area, and its potential, particularly with the arrival of Crossrail, is enormous,” Williams said. “But this does not happen by accident. Nobody can refute there being far too many false dawns, visions and tinkering at the edges over the years… It needs bold action. The property industry, of course, has a part to play.”
He continued: “Many decisions are exacerbated by the outdated and flawed business rates model, which successive governments have been unable or indeed unwilling to grapple with. We have to keep the pressure up, working together with the council and the GLA, with the BIDs and other business groups. Ambitious, bold plans will make Oxford Street and the surrounding district a place we can all be proud of and drive the economic activity and jobs needed to deliver social prosperity across the city which is required.”
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