Central Character 

“The immense amount of retail space available (in Central London) means prices will come down and a whole new wave of creativity will go into those spaces.”

Nick Jones, Soho House (private members club) 

Nick Jones spoke those words in an interview with the Financial Times in May of this year. He has a point. After all, part of the old British Home Stores flagship on Oxford Street has been turned into a nine hole, seaside–themed crazy golf extravaganza. While in Edinburgh a giant 8 story Johnnie Walker “whisky tourism” centre has opened in a former department store on Princes Street.  

That kind of development nudges you into an Alice in Wonderland of possibilities. While the flag is still at half-mast for many city centres, some of the young and the enthusiastic in London are reseeding the landscape formerly occupied by traditional shop fronts, with cocktail caddies and demonic crazy golf challenges. 

With Top Shop and Debenhams gone, it’s tempting to think of some entrepreneur staging a tongue in cheek version of The Titanic Experience in an old central London department store. 

None of which is meant to belittle the collapse of one of the drivers of city centre consumer footfall. But the answer must lie with the “new wave of creativity” that Nick Jones has recognised. So while many worship at the altar of technology and higher maths, London’s cultural and entertainment sector seems to be picking up the ball and running with it.  

Take “Immersive” theatre where the audience follows actors around a non-theatrical space and watches the action unfold. It’s been on the rise for a while (in the old days it would have been called a “promenade” performance.  Actually, it’s as old as the hills and the medieval version is still enacted as the York Mystery Plays). More recent is “interactive” theatre and games (e.g. Escape Room experiences) where participation and role play are the order of the day. 

Is this mash–up of entertainment and hospitality the way forward? At the very least it challenges the idea of dedicated building use. 

After all, we’ve welcomed cinemas with sofas and waiter service (and even beds) for years. 

In terms of spectacle, the sell–out art show in London is Yayoi Kusama’s “Infinity Mirror Rooms” at Tate Modern; at the other end of the scale, Covent Garden has a new Alcatraz venue, a prison–themed drinks experience, with the punters behind bars, dressed in orange jump suits. 

There is even the promise of scenes from “Fawlty Towers” being acted out in an actual restaurant: the audience of diners watch a dysfunctional hotelier and his long suffering staff deliver possibly the worst front of house experience this side of lunch with the Borgia’s. 

Meanwhile, thanks to Covid, people have embraced dining out on the street and in pods on rooftops. The street could now be as much a driver of activity as the buildings are a potential magnet, as long as there is an appropriate combination of events, heaters and ingenious retractable coverings. 

Of course footfall in the city centre is down dramatically, post Covid. But though the idea of flexible working is still with us (as is the virus) large companies have recognised the important social role of work in many people’s lives. Even if the number of days that we spend in the office is reduced by two fifths, it’s well understood that isolation is not good for the soul. And for the young in particular it can be corrosive. 

But if we want to hurry along the renaissance of central London, are we doing enough to offer “enterprise zone” initiatives for businesses and for the arts, leisure and entertainment sector? Are we helping people to rethink building use in central London? What about lower business rates and capital allowances when adapting buildings? 

It has been suggested that everyone needs to work together (local authorities, landlords, entrepreneurs) to reimagine Central London’s empty, underused buildings.

Let more people “live above the shop” again; bring the whole of life back to the centre. And while we’re at it, make it greener, manage commercial deliveries better to lessen disruption. 

Would more pedestrianised zones across the centre, with street markets and street theatre help? Experience suggests that unless people live and work nearby, these areas can all too easily turn into ghost streets. 

The South Bank has proved its worth as a people magnet. But it is a purpose–built riverside cultural hub that has added less formal street activities and entertainments over the years. It’s a place where people want to be seen. Think of Las Ramblas in Barcelona, the Galleria in Milan. 

A couple of decades ago, some remarkable early 20th century film of city life (in this case Manchester) was discovered in a retail chemist’s basement. 

What was interesting was the degree to which life was lived outside the house, despite a less than sunny climate. People actually “promenaded.” 

Back then the mass experience of “home” was not as a primary social or entertainment centre, largely because of the nature of the housing itself and – of course – the lack of endless in–home entertainment. 

The big offer of London’s city centre is its sheer scale, its history, and the human touch. It’s the lived experience that makes the difference. Which is where unusual blends of spectacle, theatre, role play, restaurants, bars and hotels in London just might have the edge.