The West End is one of the UK’s most valuable economic assets and one of the great ambassadors for business anywhere in the world. It is one of the UK’s most significant economic districts, generating a greater share of national output than any comparable part of the UK. It is anchored by Oxford Street, Regent Street, Bond Street and Mayfair. Around them sits an economy of shops, hotels, restaurants, attractions, museums, galleries, headquarters and offices, and some of the most valuable commercial property in the country.

Together they draw around 200 million visits a year and support approximately 350,000 jobs. This district generates around £17 billion in tax each year and 8% of all UK business rates from an area you can walk across in 20 minutes, which pays for services in towns and cities miles from the West End. That is why the cumulative cost of doing business here matters so much.

As the BID for the West End, we represent over 800 businesses across the district, and they have collectively committed £60 million to security, public realm improvement and destination marketing.

Open for Growth sets out what the West End needs to succeed. Our benchmarking report, Unlocking the London Advantage, found London to be the most consistently competitive city of the thirteen we studied. That is a real strength to build on. Almost everything we ask for in this plan is a refinement of existing policy 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.

This plan sets out what that partnership could look like, under the three chapters of Open for Growth:

1. Open and Safe is about the policing and public safety framework that lets people shop, work, visit, invest and live here with confidence.

2. 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

3. Open for Business is about a tax and planning system that protects the anchor businesses holding high streets together, in London and elsewhere.

Three asks matter most:

1. 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

2. If restoring tax free shopping is not an option, then work with us to deliver a new visitor economy spending incentive – one that rewards international visitors for spending across the whole of the UK

3. 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.

There is a good deal to build on. This Government has cut rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues, opened an independent review of how pubs and hotels are valued, and made growth in every part of the country its central mission. We share that mission and we would like to help deliver it. We are ready to work together to ensure we are delivering growth, not just for London but the whole of the UK.

The benefits of a stronger West End extend far beyond London.

If the West End grows, London grows. If London grows, the UK grows.