Covent Garden Masterplanning
The Covent Garden Estate was purchased by Capital & Counties (Capco Covent Garden) in August 2006 and now comprises 750,000 sq ft with a value approaching £700m over 42 buildings. This scale offers a critical mass to effect demonstrable district change and the intention is to add to our investments and work with our neighbouring landlords to become a leading part of the community and a qualitative long term investor in the area.
There are key local ingredients for success in Covent Garden which will be built upon:
- 350 year history
- Over 40m visitors a year
- World-famous address
- Unique architecture and physical environment
- An intimate shopping experience
- Heart of cultural London
- Proximity to London’s great landmarks and attractions
Building on these, the Capco Covent Garden vision is to reinvigorate Covent Garden by creating a flagship destination for Londoners and visitors alike, offering vibrant retail, excellent entertainment, world-class dining and hospitality. Our plans to reactivate a sense of place at street level will support enhanced residential and office accommodation in the upper parts creating value uplifts throughout the enlarging estate.
Capco Covent Garden will deliver the vision by implementing a Masterplan, working closely with Westminster City Council, the local community and other partners as required. This work will create public realm improvements and key architectural interventions coupled with best practice estate management and retail excellence. Alongside an improved environment welcoming to visitors and exciting shopping it is planned to imbue Covent Garden as an area with a rich food and dining experience more neatly to complement the legendary entertainment, culture and history of the area. The Masterplan will be moved forward, too, on a sound basis of community engagement involving all who care about improving the offer in Covent Garden and giving more to our visitors and the local community.
Public realm improvements will seek to make Covent Garden a more permeable pedestrian district. This will be assisted by the opening up of historic and new passageways and enhancing way finding, security, lighting and generally improving the streetscape and, where possible, introducing green space. Entertainment, culture and history very visibly combine in the heart of Covent Garden. Working closely with the Royal Opera House and the Royal Ballet we will be making world class performances accessible in the Piazza in a variety of new ways. New international talent will be encouraged to show off to Covent Garden’s many visitors and the 2007 Christmas Deluxe season showcased a number of spectacular and original displays that will be presented throughout 2008.
Capco Covent Garden is being developed by the far-reaching Masterplan to emphasise its dual historic and yet contemporary feel and to offer a constant succession of experiences to the many who already know the area as a world-famous address and to draw others into this special part of London, maybe for the first time.
