Regent Street plans unveiled to deliver a greener, cleaner and safer West End

The Crown Estate and Westminster City Council have unveiled plans to transform London’s iconic Regent Street – helping to deliver their shared vision for a greener, healthier and more sustainable West End.

Set to complete before Christmas, the new designs by our landscape architecture team will deliver significant improvements for safety, accessibility and air quality.

Sustainable planting and greening solutions will be introduced - helping to boost biodiversity, improve air quality, and further enhance Regent’s Street’s iconic John Nash design. New seating will also be installed. 

This is the latest initiative in The Crown Estate’s continued investment in its Central London portfolio, improving the experience for Regent Street’s shoppers, residents, workers and visitors.

Construction commenced this week, following on from the measures put in place to widen pavements using temporary barriers.

The new interim designs also build on recent initiatives such as the introduction of BIKE-DROP - a new pop-up concept, offering convenient, safe and secure cycle parking.

Nick Edwards, chair of landscape architecture, said: “The collaboration between The Crown Estate, Westminster City Council and their design teams has resulted in an outstanding design solution for this temporary and necessary enhancement to Regent Street. The layout will safely support pedestrian movement whilst ensuring that lush greening and new seating enhances the experience of, what is arguably, London’s most famous retail destination.

Attractive planting from Langham Place to Waterloo Place will support London’s Wild West End initiative, reinforcing the ethos that being close to nature helps to make people feel happier, enriches user experience and will support retail businesses in the process.”

James Cooksey, Director of Central London at The Crown Estate, said: “As we continue to invest for the future, we, along with our partners, saw a great opportunity to build upon recent experiences of reduced traffic and improved air quality.  

We are hugely proud of these latest plans for Regent Street, which will introduce one traffic lane each way, more space for pedestrians, significant greening and new cycle stands, helping to reinforce the compelling offer of the West End and further secure our place as one of the country’s best loved destinations.”

The Leader of Westminster Council, Cllr Rachael Robathan, added: “We welcome this investment in Regent Street to create a safe, green and inspiring environment in a key location within the West End. These new interim measures replace the arrangements that the Council put in place to support the reopening of the city earlier this summer and takes them to an enhanced level.  It is through this strong collaborative approach, working closely with residents, businesses and other partners that we will help to secure the successful future of this world-renowned destination.”