CAPITAL WATCH

Whilst the Street’s overall commercial economy is very robust, the Crossrail debacle does not bode well for its shopping future The modern context Whilst the Oxford Street retail offer has only improved incrementally over the century, and the ‘experiential offer’ declined significantly, commercial offices, by contrast, have boomed. The City’s historic status as the most expensive office location was overtaken by the West End during the downturn in the early 1990s. From the late 1990s, West End prime rents moved very clearly ahead of the City, although development has been increasingly seen in mega-schemes like those at Paddington or King’s Cross. Oxford Street’s retail future must also be set against the major Westfield developments at Shepherds Bush (2.72 M sq ft), Stratford (1.88 M sq ft) and, as proposed, at Croydon (1.87M sq ft). Recent London Plan studies put the combined turnover of the existing centres at 37 per cent of the entire West End (GLA Experian 2017). The Street’s competitive edge is not helped by its unimpressive public realm, limited experiential offer, pollution levels and traffic volumes. Whilst its overall commercial economy is very robust, the Crossrail debacle does not bode well for its shopping future. As the future of Oxford Street’ continues to be debated, one might reflect on research done (DoE, 1975) after the 1972 Oxford Street Improvement Scheme, which first closed the Street to general traffic and widened the pavements. That research concluded that the scheme had not attracted any more people, although fewer people now walked to the area and more cited shopping as the reason for being there (an increase from 28% to 36%). The explanation was felt to be that the remaining high volume of traffic (including 400 buses per hour) discouraged users and that the attraction of the area was so great that “the relatively minor changes in amenity had little impact”. CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD 40 PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE VILLAGE LIFE EAST END FAVOURITES The wineries and cocktail bars may have moved in, but Bethnal Green is still home to some legendary East End eateries, including G. Kelly, which serves up pies made to its 80-year- old recipe, complete with mash and liquor. (For the uninitiated, liquor is in fact a kind of parsley gravy: if it’s real liquor you’re after, get the pie to go and head to a pub.) A little further down Bethnal Green road, you’ll find E. Pellicci’s – an Italian café offering heart-stopping fry-ups alongside Mediterranean classics, presided over by Mama Maria, who relishes her role as nonna to the hungry and typically hungover clientele. MUSEUM OF CHILDHOOD Given the number of bars and restaurants, you’d be forgiven for thinking Bethnal Green was simply a playground for east London young professionals. At the Museum of Childhood, however, you’ll find exhibitions and activities to occupy people of all ages. Housed in a striking red-brick building, the museum is part of the V&A, and is even built around a pre-fabricated structure initially erected in South Kensington’s “Albertopolis”. Today, the museum is the largest of its kind in the world. NEWWINE IN OLD SKINS If circuits and sparring aren’t really your thing, it’s still worth checking out the arches of Gales Gardens and Paradise Row. The former is now home to Renegade, London’s first urban winery, which hand-processes, ages, and bottles all its wines in-house, each with a London landmark label. However, Renegade isn’t the only spot to have made use of Bethnal Green’s existing architectural heritage. French-inspired cocktail bar Coupette lies behind a very English exterior – the former home of the Albion, initially opened in 1870 – and the grandeur of Bethnal Green’s Town Hall, opened in 1910, is a fitting home for a five-star hotel, with no shortage of Art Deco interiors. MARKETS Head towards Bethnal Green on a Sunday and you’ll spot more than one local struggling along the street with some sort of unwieldy pot plant. Have you ever tried to balance a cactus on your bike handlebars? Columbia Road Flower Market is now a pretty popular tourist spot, but worth braving the crowds for. On the other hand, if it’s day-to-day goods you’re after, then Bethnal Green Market is the place to go. It’s resolutely ungentrified – but what it lacks in gluten-free baked goods, it more than makes up for with its wide variety of stalls. Bethnal Green –Where the East EndMeets theWorld BOXING CLEVER Bethnal Green has long been the home of east London’s well- established boxing scene. Situated on Old Ford Road, and built in 1928, York Hall still regularly hosts matches – as well as offering a gym, pool, and spa that puts most other publicly run leisure centres to shame. Fancy getting some practice in? You’ll find a number of small training gyms in the area’s numerous railway arches. B ethnal Green sits both literally and metaphorically between Shoreditch – the very epicentre of hipsterism – and Bow, an area of east London synonymous with Cockney culture. The result: a neighbourhood that blends heritage with some of the newest and most exciting food and drink spots in London; where bars pop-up next to Bangladeshi grocers, and railway arches host everything from sparring sessions to locally brewed session IPAs. Unlike nearby Shoreditch and Stratford, and despite now being home to a sizeable population of young Londoners, Bethnal Green has seen relatively little in terms of real estate development. Don’t let that fool you – head to the side streets, squares, and railway arches to see how this neighbourhood continues to blend old and new. By Kat Hanna, Associate Director, Urban Change kat.hanna @cushwake.com 41 VILLAGE LIFE