The rationale behind an artificial hill that, in the summer, rises at the end of the UK’s most famous shopping route, Oxford Street in London, is “Pick it up and come it”.
The 25-meter Marble Arch Hill or “tom”, inspired by nearby Hyde Park, is an exhibitor designed to draw people back to a shopping area that Westminster city council says “as many or more of any other high street in the country” suffered as a result of the pandemic.
The temporary installation, which will nest behind the famous Grade I listed gate, is a quick fix designed to undo some of the damage caused by locks and cities across the city. country and launched online sales rockets.
But greater and more lasting change is also coming. This week, Marks & Spencer unveiled plans to smooth its flagship store on Oxford Street for a major redevelopment that will deliver a large chunk of new build space – in what was once one of its most profitable stores. in the world – for office workers.
The switch reinforces the scale of change expected on major streets across the UK as the tilt to the internet takes a wide range of shops out of business. Hundreds of department stores are empty, closing or – like M&S ‘largest store – depleted, a move that has sparked the biggest change in urban clothing since World War II.
Competitive chain John Lewis has already been given the green light for turning nearly half of its Oxford Street branch into offices, and this week the employee-owned company warned of closing more department stores. Instead, dozens of John Lewis-branded areas will open in their Waitrose stores, as well as “smaller, more flexible” centers in local neighborhoods.
Sharon White, chair of the sales group, was above a loss of more than £ 517m this week, speaking of an “economic earthquake”. “We have seen decades worth of change in one year. Shopping habits have inevitably changed. ”
If there has been an earthquake, Oxford Street feels like the epicenter. In a typical year, 200 million people line up for their famous department stores and fashion brands.
Taken apart from office workers and tax-deducting tourists, businesses have spent £ 8bn of the average £ 10bn each year in an area employing 155,000 people .
Recently some big names have gone out for good. The collapse of Debenhams, Topshop and its owner, Arcadia, has left huge potholes to fill the street where a growing number selling souvenirs and wheeled bags have contributed to the decline.
On Oxford Street this week, the lockout barriers mean shoppers and shop window staff are higher than customers. The sound of pine drills goes down the empty street while work to keep the once crowded pavements goes ahead.
The “hill”, in addition to these public sector improvements, is the first phase of a £ 150m review promised by the council. As soon as the excavation is done, the council will add some greenery into the urban jungle, filling the area with 1,500 temporary plants and creating new seating areas.
The crisis has become the focus of late change in an area that, despite its popularity of department stores, cannot rely on Britons and tourists visiting for a retail solution because money is in short supply. more spent on entertainment than stuff.
“We can’t be complacent and assume that people are going to come back to the West End,” said Debbie Jackson, Westminster city council’s director of growth, planning and housing operations.
“The closing of Debenhams is particularly totemic in nature, to the closure of Topshop… it is very difficult to punch above these heads. We need to remind people that it’s here and that it’s everyone’s West End. ”
Topshop’s famous flagship store at Oxford Circus is a shadow of its predecessor, the empty store now resembling a contemporary art exhibition containing only groups of naked mannequins. Further up, Debenhams windows are completely blacked out.
But there is also evidence that investment is pouring into the street with intact buildings on board and under renovation. Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of the New West End Company, which represents 600 businesses in the area, says empty shops are a short-term challenge but there is plenty of interest from other residents.
Tyrrell estimates that, over time, up to 30% of names in the London shopping area will change, creating a healthier mix that will reduce reliance on sales in a shopping-filled area.
Places like Marble Arch Hill could help the West End get back on its feet when the economy reopens, he continues. “If you leave the market to get over it, it could be up to four years for London to start running again. We need to think later. Let’s try Marble Arch mountain [sic], Why not?”
At the moment there is no sign of the “hill”, a structure that will cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to build. Work will not begin until it is closer to the end of the locking restrictions, as there is no doubt that those involved in nonsense will only build a hill so that no one will let to climb.