Work has begun on a new shopfront for Moore & Co Pharmacy and three other stores on Craven Terrace, the latest businesses to benefit from Westminster Labour’s investment in improving local high streets.
The works will restore and refresh the historic frontages with repairs to the existing shopfronts alongside new signage, lighting and glazing to make the businesses more visible and welcoming for customers.
The project is part of Westminster City Council’s High Streets Programme, a major Labour-led investment designed to support neighbourhood shopping streets outside the West End and help independent businesses thrive. It builds on the successful shopfront programme on Harrow Road which has seen 12 shops improved.
Since taking office, Westminster Labour has committed £10 million to revitalise local high streets, supporting traders and improving the streets where residents shop, meet and access everyday services.
Alongside physical improvements to shopfronts, the programme is providing a wide range of support for local businesses, including:
- Visual merchandising training and grants to help shops improve window displays and attract more customers
- Meanwhile uses and new enterprise spaces bringing empty units back into use and supporting new businesses
- High Street Rental Auctions, a new power to tackle long-term vacant shops and keep high streets active
- Public realm improvements, public art and place strategies to make high streets greener, safer and more welcoming
Cllr Geoff Barraclough, Westminster’s Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development, visited Moore & Co Pharmacy as construction began.
He said:
“Labour is determined to back our local high streets and the independent businesses that make our neighbourhoods special.
For too long, investment in Westminster focused almost entirely on the West End. We’re changing that – supporting local traders, improving shopfronts, and bringing empty units back into use.
This new shopfront at Moore & Co Pharmacy is a great example of what that means in practice: practical support for a local business and a better, more welcoming street for residents.”
The improvements on Craven Terrace are part of a wider programme across Paddington and Bayswater, supporting high streets including Edgware Road, Praed Street, Queensway and Westbourne Grove to become more attractive and better serve their local communities.