Work has begun on Westminster City Council’s £10M scheme to transform the streetscape of London’s Bond Street. The public realm improvement is being carried out in partnership with New West End Co. and Transport for London and is part of the larger regeneration in the West End before the arrival of Crossrail in 2018.

For Phase 1, footpaths on New Bond Street between Bruton and Grafton streets will be widened and resurfaced; vehicle traffic will not be affected. The Allies Sculpture will be restored and Churchill’s cigar will be replaced.

The 18-month project may be the most ambitious in over 30 years in the Bond Street area. The shopping street is home to major fashion and jewelry retailers, such as Stella McCartney, Tiffany & Co., Harry Winston, Boodles, and art auction houses Bonhams and Sotheby’s. Shoppers spend over £1B on the street annually.

The improved public realm is expected to lead to better "dwell time" and thus higher spend per person in the Bond Street stores. The Bond Street Partnership Group expects to see an increase of £10M/year for retailers due to the improvements, and rental growth of 3% to 8%.

Future phases of the project will link with Hanover Square and Oxford Street and Piccadilly, making the West End more accessible and coherent as a district, spreading footfall and crowds away from bottlenecks. This approach dovetails with the overall vision to create a wider retail district in the West End.