The West End is one of the UK’s most significant economic districts, generating a greater share of national output than any comparable UK destination, and a global ambassador for British business.
Welcoming over 200 million visitors, supporting 350,000 jobs, and generating £17 billion in tax per year, the West End story is a national story. The district contributes 8% of all UK business rates from an area you can walk across in 20 minutes, helping fund services in towns and cities across the country.
‘Open for Growth’ sets out our policy ambitions to fuel a decade of growth for London’s West End.
We are mostly asking for a change to the rules rather than a call on the Exchequer, and in most cases we are asking to work alongside Government on the design, bringing the evidence and the industry along the journey with us.
Our asks:
Open and Safe is about the policing and public safety framework that lets people shop, work, visit, invest and live here with confidence. We’re asking for a long-term, coordinated approach to keeping the West End safe, including sustained visible neighbourhood policing, the responsible use of technology and a national multi-agency response to organised retail and acquisitive crime.
Open for Business is about a tax and planning system that protects the anchor businesses holding high streets together, in London and elsewhere. We’re asking to safeguard the key businesses that operate in the West End which act as anchors of high streets across the UK by reforming business rates, recognising the role flagship stores play in sustaining the wider ecosystem of independent retail, hospitality, leisure and culture across the West End and beyond.
Open to the World is about winning back international visitor spending for the whole of the UK and about trading hours that reflect modern customer behaviours. If restoring tax free shopping is not an option, we’re asking to work with us to deliver a new visitor economy spending incentive – one that rewards international visitors for spending across the whole of the UK. Any Overnight Visitor Levy introduced must be proportionate, in line with global standards, and reinvested back into the areas where it’s generated.
The government has made growth in every part of the country its central mission. We share that mission and we would like to help deliver it. The benefits of a stronger West End extend far beyond London.
If the West End grows, London grows. If London grows, the UK grows.
