The Revitalisation of Marylebone High Street by Simon Baynham

Historically Marylebone High Street was a thriving community high street with  greengrocers, independent shops and butchers. This is typical of many successful high streets throughout the UK in the 1950s. However, Marylebone High Street lost its way in the 1960s and went into long and gradual decline throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s before finally collapsing during the recession of the early '90s. In 1995 a third of the shops were either vacant or occupied by temporary charity shops who paid no rent at all but were there to reduce the rates liability: a fairly desperate commercial situation.

This collapse coincided with a generation change in the management at Howard de Walden Estates who owned most of the freehold shops in the High Street, but because of the grant of head-leases, controlled only about a third of the shops. Nevertheless, this should have been sufficient to have had a reasonably influential effect. The new management at the Estate recognised that if the traditional values of the High Street were restored, this would dramatically improve the quality of the retail offering and would lift the whole area, including the office and residential values of the Estate’s adjoining properties. However, the Estate’s efforts were not just confined to improving the High Street but also the provision of schools and other community uses and the refurbishment of our residential and commercial buildings.

Back in 1995 the pedestrian flow in Marylebone High Street was so poor that one local influential commentator said that you could fire a cannonball down Marylebone High Street with no risk of hitting anybody. It was increasingly clear to us that the High Street needed to attract significantly more shoppers from outside the immediate area if it could be revived as a high street. In this connection, we felt that the starting point was to bring in a supermarket which would effectively anchor the prime location of the High Street. The Estate chose Waitrose, despite the fact that significantly higher offers were received from both Sainsbury’s and Tesco. However, it was felt that Waitrose was the right retailer and would draw  people in from other areas to a greater degree. A lot of work went into assembling the site for this new supermarket, including the need to acquire a fully occupied Council house at the back of the High Street. There were the usual difficulties in providing solutions to the engineering problems of creating such a large space within a conservation area with some 30 occupied flats above. However this and other issues were overcome as both the Estate and Westminster City Council, the local authority, were keen to see the revitalisation take place. After protracted delays and a significant construction period, Waitrose opened in 1999.

At the northern end of the High Street a derelict tyre depot had been empty for many years. The Estate agreed to sell a long lease on this site to the Conran Shop to provide a 25,000 sq ft store which would anchor at the northern end of the High Street, but provide a high quality retailer whose presence in Marylebone High Street could create the reassurance needed to attract smaller retailers for the standard shops in the High Street. Conran opened their doors in 1998.

Once these anchor stores had been secured, we could work on improving the remainder of the High Street. One significant problem was that the Estate controlled only 40% of the 85 shops and restaurants and therefore it was important to raise this level of control. In retrospect, our timing was very fortunate. The Estate, under previous management, had for a long time been saying that it would do something about the High Street, but this had not ever come to fruition. Accordingly, when we offered to buy people out, they were very sceptical that anything positive would happen in the High Street and we were able to acquire some 24 units at sensible prices at the time. With the subsequent improvement to the High Street, these were very good acquisitions. As a consequence, our overall control raised to about 70% which gave us far more control over the shaping of the Street.

Along with the acquisitions, we set about seeking to improve the quality of the retailers of the smaller shops. Many units were occupied by photocopying shops, travel agents and retailers who had completely lost their way. Many of these retailers had statutory rights and could renew their leases at a market rent. However with offers of alternative accommodation in side streets we were able to persuade a great deal of the less appropriate retailers to move and make way for an injection of fresh retail ideas into the High Street. In many ways, removing the inappropriate tenants was the hardest phase of the project as we had limited legal powers to move these tenants. Further, during this phase we did run into some bad press as many people remained sceptical about our stated ambition of improving the High Street. Ironically some of the worst comments came from publications which are now some of our strongest supporters. Of course it is always at the front of your mind when you are seeking to move a tenant that you are dealing with someone’s livelihood, and in some cases these people had worked virtually all their lives in the High Street. It was of course far easier to gain possession of the charity shops as these leases excluded renewal rights.

Once we had possession of some of the smaller units, many of these were extended as they were awkward in shape, damp and uneconomic in size. A typical Victorian shop may comprise only 350 sq ft of trading space with a light-well at the rear of the trading area and a small corridor through to a small storage room. In the majority of instances, we were able to cover over the light-well and knock the shop through so that it contained approximately 700 sq ft or so of relatively open retail accommodation, which was far more economical. The basement would always provide sufficient storage and ancillary staff accommodation. In some cases the basement has also been opened up to provide retail space, although with limited success.

A typical Victorian shop would also have an adjoining but separate door to the upper residential parts. These residential doorways usually meant that the retail frontage was narrow and provided the trader with a limited shop front. One of the things we try to do with the upper parts is to carry out lateral conversions through the party-wall in order to provide more modern residential accommodation. This has enabled us to allow one staircase to serve buildings which have been laterally converted across 3 or 4 original buildings. The redundant entrances can then be incorporated within the retail area, providing a much more prominent retail frontage and better trading potential. This also significantly improves the residential accommodation, although I would emphasise that this can only be achieved if the landlord has uninterrupted ownership of the buildings.

I am not a fan of what I would regard as rather dull, rectangular retail units that unfortunately many multiple retailers seem to crave. To me, if we can retain some quirkiness and character within the shop, this will create a much more interesting retail environment. Examples of very useable but irregular shaped retail shops which we have created include The Natural Kitchen at 77/78 Marylebone High Street and Skandium at 85/86 Marylebone High Street.

Not all of Marylebone High Street needed changing and it was important to look after what was good, such as the wonderful galleried Daunt’s Books and the ever popular Patisserie Valerie. The Estate made a special effort to ensure that these tenants were retained and were always offered what I regard as comfortable terms at renewal.

The tenant selection was a fascinating and very rewarding phase. We knew that we did not want the multiples who frequented Oxford Street just 800 metres away, nor the exclusively expensive retailers who occupied Bond Street just a little further, and would not bring a sense of community. What we wanted were retailers who had a point of difference, were exclusive in terms of their merchandise but not price point and would service the needs of the majority of our residents and the local working population. We wanted to create a friendly urban village which had a uniqueness whilst also recognising that the area was in the West End and accordingly was reasonably affluent.

Retail agency has changed a lot in the last 10-15 years but in the early days it was difficult to get advice as most agents were geared to doing deals with multiples and had no real understanding of what works for the small retailers or who they were. The Estate were fortunate to find a young partnership which had recently been formed, known as Carter Wassell and Murdoch, who seemed to fully understand what we were trying to achieve and brought to the table a level of understanding which was not apparent from the others that we had interviewed. We also discussed incessantly with residents, spouses, friends and anyone else who had a view, which new retailer would be appropriate for Marylebone High Street. We went through a huge informal consultation, visited numerous retailers and interviewed many of these. In the mid-1990s it would have been easy to fill the Street with multiple coffee shops and ladies’ fashion. Clearly there was room for these but we did not want the usual suspects and certainly did not want these uses to dominate. The fundamental objective was to ask the question, what do the residents and local working population want on a day to day basis and what will make them visit Marylebone High Street rather than competing, neighbouring streets. Examples of the new retailers who came in are Cath Kidston, Cologne & Cotton, Divertimenti, VV Rouleaux, Fishworks, The Ginger Pig, La Fromagerie, Rococo and La Pain Quotidien.

Some of these retailers were put in the more affordable side streets as we were concerned that if the High Street became too successful, the nature of their business would be unable to afford the High Street rents. An example of the success of this has been in Moxon Street which has become a niche specialist food street complementing the High Street.

Improving footfall in the quietest areas was important. We therefore tried to direct new retailers who provided everyday essentials such as sandwiches, coffee etc to these poorer pitches.

We did not always get our tenant selection right as some of the new retailers gave outstanding presentations but turned out to be a disappointment. On the other hand, others surpassed all expectations. This was an inevitable consequence of dealing with independent retailers who did not have a track record.

We were fortunate that most of the landlords who controlled the other shops, which we could not buy in, became enthusiastic supporters of our policy. Many of these landlords use our letting agents and consult with us on who they should let their shops to when they become vacant. We have affectively created a club of mutual admiration of our collective work.

Public relations and marketing also played its part in promoting Marylebone High Street at a critical early stage. It is impossible to measure the success of the marketing strategy and the thousands of pounds which were invested. However, we began to get some very positive press reaction and after a while a momentum grew and we found that we no longer needed to promote the Street, but its unique tenant mix did this itself. We continue to heavily subsidise the Christmas Lights and fund and organise the annual Summer Fayre. Both of these events are focused on providing community events. This year at least 30,000 people visited a very enjoyable and relaxed Summer Fayre on a glorious, sunny summer’s day. This event is such an important showcase for the urban village we have created.

The introduction of the Farmers’ Market on Sunday, at the back of Waitrose, and a Saturday market called Cabbages & Frocks have turned the Street from a 5 day week trading destination to a 7 day week offering, with some traders reporting their best trading day being on Sunday. With the exception of the Banks, all the shops open on Sundays. This is a marked contrast to the situation 10 years ago when 70% of the shops were shut.

In order to maintain the existing success we need to continue to push forward, otherwise inevitably we will go backwards. We cannot rest on our laurels. Further, it must also be remembered that retailers do have their day and if we support those retailers that are failing, their continued presence will impact negatively on the tenant mix. There is no doubt that the Estate has re-positioned Marylebone both as a residential and office location. Some say Marylebone is the most fashionable area in London and in turn say London is the most fashionable City in the world!

The Colliers rental survey recently confirmed that Marylebone High Street was 1 of only 4 high streets in the United Kingdom where rents had advanced over the last 12 months. Encouragingly, footfall is now 3 times greater than it was 12 years when we first commissioned independent footfall counts. During the last 12 months, astonishingly we have had just one shop to let and we received 10 offers for this shop within a matter of weeks.

The High Street has won numerous awards including being voted by Radio 4 listeners as London’s favourite street in a survey commissioned by CABE. In its inaugural year, the Estate won The Academy of Urbanism’s top award for the best street project in Britain and Ireland.

For me, the satisfaction is not that we have achieved recognition but that you can look down Marylebone High Street and see and feel the wonderful community atmosphere with a good balance of shops. It  is also satisfying that we have confounded traditional retail theory by creating best value, not by letting to blue chip multiples but by doing the very opposite and creating a community and genuine urban village. 
 

The heart of Marylebone