Grosvenor Square will reopen to the public for the first time in over a year on Monday 20 July, following a £25m makeover.
Owned by the Grosvenor Group — the Duke of Westminster's private property company, which also owns swathes of Mayfair and Belgravia — Grosvenor Square closed last June to undergo its fourth major redesign since it was first constructed in the first half of the 18th century.
Taking on a woodland theme with winding paths, Grosvenor Square is now filled with some 150,000 plants and bulbs, 44 new trees and two (admittedly small) wetlands — a vivacious contrast to its previous austere, be-lawned layout. "At a time when conversations about heat, flooding and the future of our cities couldn't be more relevant," says Grosvenor, "the project asks a simple question: how can urban green spaces work harder for both people and nature?"
One practical answer to this is that the Square can now absorb up to 1.4 million litres of stormwater at a time, doing its bit against urban flooding. We're also told that wildlife is already returning, with ducks, butterflies and dragonflies all sighted in the last few weeks. An education centre run by London Wildlife Trust has been installed, along with a new café kiosk.
Set out by gardener John Alston in the 1720s, Grosvenor Square was initially reserved for the use of the Square's residents, only opening to the public after the Second World War. From 1938 until 2018, the US Embassy overlooked the Square, making the green space a popular spot for protests, including those against the Vietnam War.
This latest revamp has been largely funded by Grosvenor Group, which, it's fair to say, has a few quid kicking around. In 2017 the Guardian revealed that, benefitting from previous offshore investment in the dukes of Westminster empire, the current Duke of Westminster, billionaire Hugh Grosvenor, didn't have to pay the 40% death duties imposed on most British taxpayers.
