Westminster city council and the Crown Estate have announced the renaming of a 200-year-old West End landmark street.
The southern-most end of Regent Street, south of Piccadilly Circus, will from today be officially known as Regent Street St James’s.
It is only the fourth time a street in this part of London has been renamed in the past 20 years.
James Cooksey, head of the St James’s portfolio at The Crown Estate, which owns around 50% of St James’s, said: “The renaming will play an important role in ensuring both Regent Street St James’s and Haymarket become distinctive destinations in their own right within this historic part of the West End.”
He was joined by Robert Davis, deputy leader and cabinet member for the built environment at Westminster council, to unveil the new street sign today.
Davis said: “It is very rare that a street in Westminster is renamed. But with the opportunities, growth and development we are experiencing in the area of St James’s, we naturally want to help create a destination that visitors and Londoners can start to recognise and love.”
The event also marked the substantial completion of the Piccadilly Two Way, Phase II, project which involved improvements to the public realm and street environment around Regent Street St James’s, Haymarket, Charles II Street and Waterloo Place.
Colloquially known as “lower” Regent Street, construction of the thoroughfare began 200 years ago, based on the elaborate plans of John Nash.
