Partnership between Westminster City Council and The Crown Estate awards public realm design contract for Regent Street, Haymarket and Piccadilly Circus

Westminster City Council and The Crown Estate have reached the latest milestone in their plans to transform the public realm for Regent Street, Haymarket and Piccadilly Circus by jointly appointing Allies and Morrison to lead an ambitious and groundbreaking design that reimagines these places for the future vitality of the West End and London.

Following a competitive tender process seeking an innovative, solutions-focused design team, a team led by Allies and Morrison were selected. They are a leading multi-disciplinary practice that designs award-winning places that are internationally recognised and celebrated.

This marks another step towards realising the vision for Regent Street, Haymarket and Piccadilly Circus that was published earlier this year by the Council and The Crown Estate – a vision that was informed by over 3,500 residents, workers and visitors to the area during an extensive public engagement exercise in 2023. The vision for the area focuses on preserving and enhancing the area’s heritage, prioritising pedestrian experience, and encouraging more nature and greening in the heart of the West End.

Informed by this vision, the Allies and Morrison team will now work with the Council and The Crown Estate to bring forward a public realm design. It will ensure that these iconic streets are more sustainable, inclusive and accessible, while preserving and enhancing their world class heritage, so the millions of people and hundreds of businesses that use these spaces every year will be able to experience the very best that London’s West End has to offer.

Ultimately, the project aspires to reimagine John Nash's original ambition to connect St James's Park with Regent's Park in a way that allows these places to continue to make a huge contribution to the UK economy and be resilient well into the future.

Following the announcement of the Mayor’s plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street earlier this year, the City Council and The Crown Estate are in discussion with the Greater London Authority, Transport for London and other West End Stakeholders to ensure the Future of Regent Street, Haymarket and Piccadilly Circus public realm proposals deliver wide ranging benefits to residents, businesses, Londoners and visitors.

Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, Cabinet Member for City Management and Air Quality said: “We have ambitious plans for Regent Street, Haymarket and Piccadilly Circus. The appointment of Allies and Morrison by the City Council and The Crown Estate will enable us to progress our plans and continue to work with the residents and businesses to deliver a really exciting and inclusive public realm design that reflects our ambitions for these West End streets.”

Kristy Lansdown, Managing Director for Development at The Crown Estate said: “This announcement marks another exciting moment for our partnership as we reimagine these iconic West End places. Allies and Morrison are well placed to help us realise our ambitions for Regent Street, Haymarket and Piccadilly Circus, delivering a greener, more inclusive and accessible West End for all and to ensure London remains a leading global city.”

Daniel Elsea, Partner and Eric Hallquist, Director of Landscape Architecture, from Allies and Morrison said: “As a practice that has always been engaged with the public realm and fascinated by the spaces between buildings, we are honoured to kick off 2025 with this new commission. We have assembled a creative coalition of designers, makers and doers, from the worlds of sustainability to contemporary art, to work with us, Westminster and The Crown Estate. Together, we’ll help craft the future of the landmark destinations of Regent Street, Picadilly Circus and Haymarket to be enjoyed by everyone for decades to come.”