When problems are severe, radical solutions are required. For the eastern end of Oxford Street, the next 10 to 15 years will be the litmus test as to whether the public and private sectors have the imagination, drive and finances to carry out what is a desperately needed overhaul.
The problems at this end of the UK’s top shopping street are well known: a predominance of tatty shops, narrow pavements, congested roads, pollution – the list goes on. Improving the situation is made more difficult by the disparate ownership of large stretches of the street, poorly configurated space and shallow shops. Rents are substantially lower than those achieved at the west end of the street, at around £375 per sq ft compared with £500 per sq ft, according to Colliers CRE.
“The east end has got a different character,” says Gary Reeves, chief operating officer for the New West End Company, which is a voluntary business improvement district.
What can be done to make the area more attractive to retailers and shoppers and boost property values and rents?
The biggest issue is transport. There have been rumours for years of plans ranging from pedestrianising Oxford Street and running trams to installing an overhead transit system.
“Something radical has to be done. There are too many buses along Oxford Street – in the region of 700 an hour – with an occupancy rate of around 20%,” says Danny Chalkley, cabinet member for economic development at Westminster council. “People have talked about Oxford Street for a long time, but it comes down to logistics. That is not to say that transport problems can’t be overcome.”
It seems that “radical” plans will not involve trams or anything more space age. The number of bus routes that would have to be diverted would be too great a logistical headache.
The council and the New West EndCompany are thinking more about reducing the number of buses. Estates Gazette has seen plans drawn up by Arup Associates that show how certain routes could filter around the edges of the two-mile long street rather than having to travel along it.
Shops to make way for Crossrail
Another transport system, Crossrail, would have an even bigger impact than rerouted buses. Should the ambitious scheme clear the funding hurdle, two blocks of property at the eastern end of Oxford Street will have to be demolished then replaced to allow space at Tottenham Court Road station for Crossrail platforms (see map). The Crossrail station could stretch underground from Centre Point at Tottenham Court Road in the east to Dean Street in Soho to the west.
“With Crossrail, there would be a vast number of people coming into Oxford Street, and that would boost rental values,” says Chris Phillips, partner at Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker. “The Dean Street block has also got great potential. I would be putting in 10,000-20,000 sq ft units there.”
Westminster council has already drawn up draft planning guidelines for the redevelopments, which could offer landlords and developers the opportunity to provide not only smarter buildings but also better configurated retail space.
Reeves hopes that improved transport and a better general environment will act as a catalyst for landlords to look at how retail space could be improved. John Burns, managing director at Derwent Valley, which has property holdings at the eastern end of Oxford Street, believes some big stores would help turn the area around. Robert Hesketh, head of asset management for London at Land Securities, agrees.
LandSec holds a powerful card in the regeneration game, having acquired strategic chunks of property on the north side of Oxford Street. Not surprisingly, Hesketh believes there is great potential there. “The key driver will be the station, but we haven’t got a date for redevelopment because we haven’t got all the bits,” he says. “We are very closely monitoring it, and most of the retailers are on short leases.”
Big-name store needed
The developer’s plans are for better retail accommodation, possibly with residential above. “If we could get a destination store, that would be great, but the site is narrow at one end, so it would be difficult to get in a bigger unit there. The site is not big enough for a shopping centre,” he says.
One site that could potentially provide the space for a shopping centre or a destination store is that occupied by Royal Mail’s Rathbone Place sorting office, behind 54-68 Oxford Street. Michael Chudzynski, divisional director of retail agency at Nelson Bakewell, who is agent for Royal Mail, believes the site, together with adjacent plots, could accommodate between 300,000-400,000 sq ft of shopping space.
He says such a development could push up rents in the area, which would, inevitably, price some of the budget independent retailers out, improving the area at two levels.
Derwent’s Burns, whose company is a neighbouring landlord, says: “I’m sure the Royal Mail site will one day be developed. It’s just a question of bringing it all together.” He adds: “There is potential there in the long term for all landlords to get together. We need two or three big users to go there. Landlords are coming together in the form of the New West End Company.”
LandSec is another neighbour that has had an eye on the site for some time. “The Royal Mail site is something we’ve been looking at for 20 years,” says Hesketh. “We’d like to do something with it because we’ve got the building next door, at 70-88 Oxford Street. The long-term plan is to get something going there.”
Royal Mail’s plans for the sorting office are not yet known. In addition, if Crossrail goes ahead, the office’s car park has been earmarked to accommodate lorries removing excavation spoils. However, there is no doubt the site could be a key component in any major regeneration of the north side of Oxford Street.
While the north side of the street seems to be brimming with redevelopment opportunities, the same cannot be said for the southern side. Apart from the block that could be affected by Crossrail, the remaining shops would be tricky to redevelop.
“The south side is a mish-mash of ownerships, and also has restricted depth,” says CWHB’s Phillips. “You have really got to pull units back to create a decent size.”
Nothing is going to happen overnight to improve the eastern end of Oxford Street, but there is a lot of planning going on – if not a lot of will – to significantly improve the area in the long term.
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Tottenham Court Road/Oxford Street 1 Westminster council has issued draft planning guidelines for redevelopment that would be a necessary part of the Crossrail construction. The Astoria is currently on the site and Westminster’s plans specify the theatre use would have to be replaced. Also, there is an opportunity to provide new retail space in a mixed-use development. Dean Street/Oxford Street 2 The Tottenham Court Road Crossrail western ticket hall would be built underneath Dean Street, with buildings above ground likely to be redeveloped. Again, Westminster has issued a draft planning brief. Larger, better-configured units could be created. Oxford Street north side 3 Land Securities has been buying up large chunks of the north side of the Oxford Street, although it does not own a whole block. Long-term plans are for a major redevelopment with space to accommodate a destination store. A shopping centre has been ruled out because of size. Royal Mail site/Oxford Street 4&5 Royal Mail occupies a large site behind Oxford Street that could provide substantial retail space, particularly if combined with existing buildings that front the shopping street. Neighbouring landlords include LandSec and Derwent Valley. The site would be big enough to accommodate a shopping centre. |
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It is not just Oxford Street that could benefit from redevelopment as a consequence of Crossrail. Landlords have, in recent years, worked hard to improve the southern end of Tottenham Court Road. The north end of Charing Cross Road, however, has remained neglected. The street is famous for its bookshops, which dominate the middle and southern end, but towards Tottenham Court Road tube station the shops become smaller, and consist of a ramshackle mix selling cheap clothes and fast food. The block above the station includes the Astoria club and music venue, which is earmarked for redevelopment as part of the new Crossrail station. Chris Phillips, partner at Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker, says: “It’s a tremendous opportunity to deal with a decaying part of Charing Cross Road and the east end of Oxford Street. It is an opportunity to create modern retail units, which is what retailers want, and you can do that without changing the mix of Charing Cross Road.” Other developments and potential new space include: ● The 47,000 sq ft West One shopping centre, above Bond Street tube station, itself earmarked as a Crossrail station. Phillips say the centre has got significant potential for redevelopment which, following Westminster council’s planning guidelines, would have to be mixed use. ● The Dickins & Jones store, which is due to close next year. Its vacation would leave not only a huge amount of space in one of the country’s prime retail locations but also a landmark building. Phillips says that it, too, will become a mixed-use scheme, and there are already plans for three flagship stores. He asks: “How often do you get a stunning building like that with amazing floor-to-ceiling heights?” |
