Major retail development proposed near London's Marble Arch

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 17, 2017

New transport links and Oxford Street’s planned pedestrianisation are not the end of the transformation that is changing central London’s premier shopping area and on Friday it emerged that a “major retail-led development” is being proposed on the Mount Royal part of Oxford Street.

Mount Royal is a large area at the Northern end of the thoroughfare between Portman Street and Old Quebec Street and its owners, The Portman Estate and Great Portland Estates, have already hired architects to draw up plans which could involve 100,000 sq ft of retail space.

It’s a development that wouldn’t have been feasible not so many years ago as Oxford Street’s shopping interest ended with the giant M&S store next to Selfridges. 

But development has made that end of the street a busy shopping destination with a number of major chains such as Topshop, New Look, River island, Urban Outfitters and Asics, opening there and Primark being another key attraction.

“We are exploring an opportunity with our stakeholders to create a new major retail-led development on Europe’s busiest shopping street,” The Portman Estate said. “Make Architects has been instructed to help look at the various options for the site. Nothing has been agreed at this early stage, but it will be a mixed-use development. This is a potential scheme for the mid-2020s.”

Analysts said further development plans are expected to be unveiled as next year’s completion of improved transport links boosts footfall by many millions annually and the Oxford Street pedestrianisation scheme adds further to the West End’s overall appeal.