Meeting with the council on Regent Street proposals
12 March 2024 6 pm at Sacred Grounds
The council have sent this:-
Westminster City Council and The Crown Estate launched the Regent Street Public Realm Vision Report in February 2024 following approval by the Council’s Cabinet on 29 January 2024. The vision report outlines our shared ambitions for one of London’s most iconic streets and has been heavily informed by an extensive public engagement exercise that took place in 2023 with local residents, workers, and visitors from the UK and abroad. The Cabinet decision also approved expanding the project to now include Piccadilly Circus and Haymarket down to Pall Mall.
The Council and The Crown Estate would like to take the opportunity to invite the Soho Society to meet with us so that we can provide an update on the progress of the project to date, as well as next steps - including our plans for the design process and further engagement opportunities. We are also eager to hear more from you on any outcomes you would like to see for Regent Street, Haymarket, and Piccadilly Circus at this early stage, as well as how you would like to work with us going forwards.
To get the most out of the meeting, please let us know if there are any matters or topics you would like to discuss with us regarding the project. We would appreciate it if these could be sent to us a week in advance of the meeting to allow us to prepare.
For your information, we have also invited the Soho Neighbourhood Forum to this meeting.
We are happy to host this meeting at Westminster City Hall, or alternatively meet in Soho if you can organise a local venue.
STAKEHOLDER: Soho Resident Association and Neighbourhood Forum
DATE: Tuesday, 12.03.24
TIME: 18:00 – 19:00
LOCATION: Sacred Grounds 54 Dean Street
To confirm your attendance please contact us at regentstreet@westminster.gov.uk. If you are planning to forward this invite to additional attendees, please let us know so that we can ensure we have a suitably sized venue for the meeting.
Public Meeting on the Regent Street carriageway reductions - Thursday,9 November 2023 6.30pm at 55 Dean Street
We are planning a public meeting on Regent Street. You can sign up here.
What do taxi drivers think about the Regent Street Scheme?
Hear Karen Proctor Chair of the United Cabbies Group by clicking below.
Westminster City Council has announced consultation on Regent Street’s Future
13 July 2023
The council’s new consultation is here. You have until 30 August to respond.
Council are saying that the “temp” scheme is staying until 2026 in any event. Frankly, the consultation is a bit strange. There has already been a consultation on the temporary scheme in which it is very clear residents want the temp scheme removed (see below).
The previous traffic decision which has made the temporary scheme permanent (for now) is here. The comments and history in this document are useful, particularly the Taxi Drivers submission.
A number of residents have raised concerns about whether the carriageway restrictions on Regent Street may cause problems with emergency vehicle access to Soho, increase congestion and shift traffic from Regent Street into Soho’s narrow residential streets. The safety issue also been raised on Twitter (see below).
During lockdown the pavement on Regent Street and Langham Place had been widened and the carriageway is now a single lane in both directions
We have been asking a number of questions to the Council and the Crown Estate about this.
The council has said that the scheme is “temporary” and for 18 months. We now understand that the council is counting the 18 month period from January 2021 so would end on 19 July 2022. In fact the road restrictions went in well before in May 2020 so should actually end in November 2021. We have asked the council to clarify the situation.
The problems with the pavement widening are:-
1) design and aesthetic - this is one of London’s most significant streets historically and architecturally - it is now single lane and it looks like toy town
2) it makes the congestion much worse - when a bus or taxi stops all the traffic stops - this makes traffic pollution worse not better and will congest when Soho’s businesses re-open, the last thing we want is anything that might delay the return to Soho’s offices and businesses
3) it may not be safe - we have a report of a near miss of a cyclist being crushed by a truck because the road layout at Lower Regent And Piccadilly doesn’t work for large trucks.
The issue was mentioned by Chris Evans on his breakfast show recently. You can listen here.
Westminster City Council did not consult on the temporary proposals. We understand that the Crown Estate paid for it and has long championed the extension of the pavement to increase the space for shoppers - whatever the impact on neighbouring districts.
23 April 2021. Bus breakdown - All southbound traffic on Regent Street blocked.
Also worth reading is this on what happened in Camden with a similar scheme.