The Reader: Safe transport campaign could save West End

London’s West End
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23 July 2020
WEST END FINAL

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Super Saturday it was not. You might think that pubs, restaurants and our distinguished museums and galleries would drive a dramatic rise in footfall in London’s West End on 4th July, and in one sense you would be right.

Based on one important performance indicator, footfall was up 69% in Leicester Square; in Piccadilly Circus, 62% more people visited; on Piccadilly, there were 35% more visitors; and Jermyn Street, Regent Street and Bond Street all saw double digit footfall rises.

The problem is that what seemed like healthy foot traffic figures were actually increases compared with the previous week.

When set against the same week in 2019, the decline in West End footfall, despite ‘Super Saturday’, was heart breaking to see, with what many see as the entertainment and cultural capital of the world reduced to a host for a relatively committed few.

We represent 500 leading businesses and 100 top property owners in the area covering Piccadilly & St James’s, Leicester Square & Piccadilly Circus and St Martin’s. Our members include the Royal Academy of the Arts, Her Majesty’s Theatre, English National Opera, National Gallery, plus the iconic Ritz Hotel and Fortnum & Mason. Given the calibre of venues and institutions in this core part of the West End, one might have expected a greater level of resurgence than other parts of the country.

However, whereas the average number of visitors to UK High Streets was down by 50% compared to the same week in July 2019, this number looks significantly more favourable than the 75% year on year reduction in the number who visited the West End. This is mirrored in the numbers using public transport, with 77% less people using Piccadilly Circus tube station compared to the same time last year.

These vastly deviating figures between the UK High Street versus the West End represent two unique factors for central London - its dependence on visitors to sustain it, including the huge increased daytime population from office workers, and a safe and well-used public transport system.

Whilst some of central London’s pubs, restaurants, museums and galleries have now opened, these businesses and institutions need people to come back in large numbers to remain viable or even re-open, which is why Heart of London Business Alliance wholeheartedly supports the Evening Standard’s campaign to get central London moving again.

From 1st August, it’s very good news that people will not be discouraged from using public transport. This coincides with the Government’s updated advice on getting people back to their usual workplace, by giving employers more discretion to make decisions about how staff will work.

However, to get Central London back on its feet with tens of thousands of jobs at stake, we need to go further than that.

What we need above all – and we have written to Mayor Sadiq Khan to make our point – is active encouragement for people to start using London’s public transport again. We are keen to see the introduction of London-specific messaging, highlighting the excellent measures that Transport for London is taking to ensure the people system’s safety and resilience.

It is also important to ensure that the transport system is ready for increased numbers. Encouraging staged returns to work and off-peak travel would be a good start because, as well as reassuring businesses, this would ease pressure on the network at a critical time.

Increased messaging that much of Central London is relatively small and walkable would be a valuable initiative – how many people, for example, are using public transport to travel short distances like between Leicester Square and Covent Garden tube stations without appreciating that these are very short walking distances away.

Our members cannot support the Mayor’s increase in congestion charging. For elderly and less mobile visitors and night workers, this is at best a disincentive to come into Central London and at worst another barrier to the survival of our businesses.

London’s West End has strong claims to be the cultural capital of the world. Financial support from the Government was welcome, but we also need to see more encouragement for theatres and other cultural institutions (some of which have chosen not to open yet) to be able to open in a safe and viable way.

It’s easy to overlook the inter-connectedness of the whole central London ecosystem. People don’t just visit the West End for a drink or a meal; part of its allure is that a day at the office or a weekend visit to London involves a rich variety of experiences. Look at how many people who work in central London then spend the evening unwinding in the West End.

Without people feeling reassured that public transport is safe or encouraged back to work, that delicate ecosystem will wither and some of it may die. If the Government and the Mayor do start singing from the same hymn sheet to encourage people back onto public transport it will be possible to bring London to life again safely.

But we need to start with a major campaign – and strong, aligned leadership - to communicate that the tube, trains and buses are safe in time for the return of London’s workers.
Ros Morgan from the Heart of London Business Alliance which represents 500 businesses including the Ritz, Fortnum & Mason and the English National Opera

Editor's reply

Dear Ros

You are right that visiting central London is heartbreaking: empty streets, quiet restaurants and pubs, theatres mostly closed. We need to encourage Londoners to get back on public transport and back to town but mandatory face coverings, travelling off-peak and sanitising stations will only do so much. It apparently takes 90 days to make a habit a lifestyle. We’ve become accustomed to lockdown life. It will take time for people to build confidence come back. I just hope it won’t be too late.
Lizzie Edmonds, Reporter

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