Westminster City Council and The Crown Estate have unveiled the ‘Regent Street Public Realm Vision’.
Following extensive public engagement with West End residents, workers, and visitors between July and October 2023, three key priorities have emerged from the public’s feedback:
- prioritising pedestrian experience
- preserving heritage
- introducing nature and greening
Public engagement was specifically designed to be inclusive of a wide range of communities and resulted in 3,500 people participating through a series of workshops, online and on-street surveys, and social media campaigns.
The ambition is to design and deliver a public realm project that connects St. James’s Park to Regent’s Park, creating a new green link through the heart of the West End. This would emphasise and reimagine the architect John Nash’s original ‘park-to-park’ route, set out over 200 years ago, to help adapt it in a changing climate and encourage a variety of activities and experiences along the 1.5 mile route.
The project will also be expanded to include Piccadilly Circus and Haymarket in its next phase, and will complement the emerging Oxford Street programme to ensure that the West End remains one of the world’s most exciting and successful destinations.
Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Cabinet Member for City Management and Air Quality, said:
“The Regent Street Public Realm Vision report represents Labour’s commitment to a more vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive urban environment, and we’re pleased to extend this to Haymarket and Piccadilly Circus.”
“We’ve worked extensively with members of the public, including local residents, people who work in the area, as well as visitors, to shape a vision that is based on what they want to see.”
“We believe that our shared ambitions with The Crown Estate will not only enhance the quality of life for people who live and work in the area, but also contribute to the continued success of Regent Street as a global destination.”