From crime sprees to candy stores – how can Oxford Street be fixed?

The Metropolitan Police made nine arrests as hundreds of teenagers gathered outside JD Sports after a shoplifting plan went viral on Snapchat and TikTok. The police also handed out more than 30 dispersal orders.

Stores including Muji and Boots lowered their shutters as chaos ensued and traffic was temporarily stopped as four police officers on horseback struggled to manage crowds of people trying to capture the incident on video.

Marks & Spencer operations director Sacha Berendji said the incident was “another reminder of how bad things are” on Oxford Street, which is beleaguered by “empty shops, littered streets and fewer visitors”.

What’s wrong on Oxford Street?

Retail Week reported in March that Oxford Street has more vacant units than the average British high street and the rest of central London. Local Data Company research found 42 of Oxford Street’s 269 shops stood empty, a vacancy rate of 16%.

The result is higher than the average vacancy rate for high streets in central London (13%) and for shopping streets across the rest of Britain (14%).

Regent Street had a vacancy rate of 13% and is increasingly being seen by retailers and brands as a more desirable location than its West End neighbour.

As well as empty units, equally emblematic of Oxford Street’s decline is the relentless game of whack-a-mole Westminster City Council is playing with unscrupulous American candy and souvenir shops up and down the street.

Attempts to shake up Oxford Street have hit the buffers, with M&S’ plans to rebuild its Marble Arch store rejected by the government in July. Meanwhile, the long-discussed plan to pedestrianise the street does not feature in the council’s plans.

How to fix it

Westminster City Council continues its war against candy stores and has seized more than £1m worth of unsafe or illegal goods from American candy and souvenir shops. But their number has returned to peak levels since the spring.

The council and New West End Company have launched a three-year scheme that will offer small businesses rent-free units, a 70% business rates reduction, a store fitout and business support to boost the area.

The £10m scheme, called Meanwhile On: Oxford Street, will offer shops previously occupied by American candy, vape and souvenir stores to “innovative, cutting-edge and up-and-coming brands, who will offer something exciting and new”.

Retail Week exclusively revealed images of the council’s plans for a £100m facelift of the street, with work expected to begin as early as autumn 2024 and finishing in spring 2026.

We also tasked creative agency Imagination to come up with a new vision for Oxford Street, in an ideal world with an unlimited budget, free from timeframes and not at the mercy of willingness from its stakeholders. It came up with a bold future for the street featuring sky gardens, community spaces and reimagined retail spaces.