Hope at last for east end of Oxford Street

Bye bye discount sportswear, hello flagship stores

Westminster Council be praised! Negotiations on the redevelopment of the eastern stretch of Oxford Street are at last underway. Yes, that abominable hotchpotch of shops in the grim shadow of Centre Point that categorically refutes Oxford Street’s claim to title of "best shopping street in the world" is heading for extinction.

Oxford Street flaunts a surfeit of fame, but the stroll from Tottenham Court Road to Oxford Circus doesn’t hint at an ounce of quality. As you wade past rundown shops pushing bargain basement sports kit, tacky mementos, ugly luggage and innumerable mobile phones, you can hardly believe that you’re walking along the quintessence of 21st century consumerism. Rather than fulfilling all my retail fantasies, opiating my rebellious streak, leaving me light of pocket and laden with pretty bags - a trip down this end of Oxford Street is as torturous as listening to Peter Andre and Jordan’s latest duet.

However, if I come from Marble Arch things are quite the opposite. I spend a Sultan’s inheritance, can’t move for pretty bags and leave already dreaming about my next splurge. I am, in fact, so at ease in Selfridges it’s almost foetal, cuddling a handbag, sucking my thumb. The difference either side of Oxford Circus is just so blatant you’d think it was a conspiracy. Maybe the west side only looks so damn good because she’s sat next to her ugly friend?

West Oxford Street is the capital of high streets – inoffensive, predictable and not too pricey. And that’s why people like it. So once the compulsory purchase orders are discharged, the bulldozers flatten and the area is transformed, the large chains will almost certainly push out the independent retailers. It would be a shame, if I cared about buying three pairs of ill-fitting tracky bottoms for £20 (although the massive new Primark will sort that problem out). Given the current state of affairs, I am practically salivating at the prospect of a whole row of spanking new flagship stores. East will match west and there will at least be no nasty surprises for the uninitiated visitor.

So congratulations for finally sorting it out. All we have to worry about now are planning wrangles and traffic havoc whilst the work is done. For the time being I’m happy to wait, neatly curled round a bubbling champagne flute in the Selfridges bar.

Capital Gains

The majority of “Londoners” don’t actually come from the city. 58% of the capital’s inhabitants were born elsewhere and as many as a fifth see themselves as temporary residents who will be gone in less than five years’ time. 41%, however, are happy to call London their permanent home and will never move away.

Bus-tastic

Londoners love buses. Fact. Unlike everywhere else in the country where figures dropped by 1.2%, the total number of bus journeys in London grew by 2% in the last year. Numbers might, however, drop next summer when a new, improved river ferry commuter service sets sail along the river Thames. Funded by the company who have bought the Millennium Dome, the service will run early in the morning to late at night every 10 to 15 minutes to and from the Dome.

Hose Improvements

Old hoses chucked in the bin by the London Fire Brigade are being used by a London-based designer to produce exclusive, eco-friendly furniture. 50% of the profits made from the range of designer chairs produced by Bio Services will be given back to the fire brigade for charity donations.

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