Impression of St Giles' Circus redevelopment
The New West End Company presented "West End 2020", its vision of how the central London shopping streets will look a decade hence, at the House of Commons last night.
The key points:
New space for pedestrians, with pavements widened and a reduction in bus traffic between 10am and 4pm, and a dedicated fleet of green shuttle buses linking Marble Arch with Tottenham Court RoadThe company's lofty ambition can be read in full in this PDF document.
Evidently rattled by the growth of Westfield shopping malls in east and west London, the company wants to reassert the West End's role as the alpha male in London's retail jungle. Indeed, their sight is on a bigger rival than Stratford or White City: the aim is for London to overtake New York as the world's prime shopping destination. It'll take a lot more than a pavilion, a new crossing, and a couple of green buses to put Oxford Street on a par with Fifth Avenue.