Walk down Harrow Road today and you will notice some things have changed. Shopfronts once tired and peeling now shine with fresh paint and smart new signs. Rain gardens are blooming in Maida Hill Market, not trampled but flourishing. There is a buzz on the pavements not just from traffic, but from traders and residents who finally feel their high street is on the up.
It wasn’t always this way. For decades, the Harrow Road Ward was left behind. Families here earn £10,000 less than the Westminster average and nearly half the children qualify for free school meals.
While luxury developments rose elsewhere in Westminster, this neighbourhood was told to make do with less. CCTV cameras were removed just as crime was rising. Gambling shops clustered without protection for vulnerable residents. Entire estates were left riddled with asbestos. This wasn’t neglect by accident, it was the result of political choices that put other parts of Westminster first.
Residents remember it well. As one local put it, “Harrow Road used to feel forgotten.”
A Different Kind of Politics
This began to change in 2022. With Labour now running the Council, we put residents at the heart of change. Our North Paddington Programme is investing £20 million in long-term renewal. Our Fairer Economy Plan works to ensure prosperity is shared across the city, not just concentrated in the West End. And through the Westminster High Streets Programme, we’ve committed £10 million more to lift shopping areas like Harrow Road.
But this isn’t regeneration written in City Hall. It’s shaped with residents and traders, reflecting lived experience. When people told us Maida Hill Market deserved the same standard of investment as Marylebone or Pimlico, we agreed, and raised the budget. When sceptics said rain gardens would be trashed, we trusted the community, and today the plants and flowers are thriving.
The shopfront improvement scheme has already transformed twelve businesses, with seven more to follow this autumn. Traders tell us it’s lifted the whole street. “This really has refreshed the High Street,” said the owner of Luxe Blinds. “To have this sort of scheme where businesses can rely on the council to bring our vision to life, it’s a great initiative.”
It’s not just cosmetic. Local traders are getting training in visual merchandising and business resilience. As one butcher told us, “We are a small business that couldn’t even dream of having access to such programmes for advice and support.”
We have also revived the Harrow Road Business Association. Now, traders meet quarterly with Westminster City Council officers who listen and act, genuine partnership in a place that could never sustain a formal business improvement district.
And it’s working. Footfall is up 11%. Spending is rising even faster. Three-quarters of visitors are residents, proof that this is regeneration for the community, not for outsiders.
We have also listened on safety. Residents wanted CCTV back, and now it’s back. It’s monitored 24 hours a day and used as a proactive tool to prevent crime and ASB. Already, anti-social behaviour has fallen since the cameras were switched on.
One resident told us, “For the first time, it feels like the council is actually listening to us.”
We know decades of neglect can’t be undone in just three years. But the transformation is visible. Pride is returning to shopfronts. Safety is returning to our streets. Greening is happening in unexpected places. Hope is returning to homes that once felt forgotten.
And this is just the beginning. From next year, the High Streets Programme will extend across the whole of Westminster, ensuring every neighbourhood shares in renewal and hope.
Harrow Road is no longer a story of decline. It’s a story of resilience, partnership, and a community writing its own future. With Labour, we are building a Harrow Road ward of safety, dignity, and opportunity for generations to come.
Councillor Concia Albert – Harrow Road Ward
Councillor Geoff Barraclough – Maida Vale Ward & cabinet member for planning & economic development
