Regent Street Strategies

Aim

to work proactively with Westminster City Council (WCC) to find appropriate and practical solutions to the provision of suitable residential accommodation in Regent Street or in the vicinity, in accordance with the approved Unitary Development Plan (UDP)

Strategy

carry out a strategic, block by block, audit and analysis of all buildings in the street, to identify appropriate residential accommodation opportunities
the area to the north of Oxford Street and side streets to the south of Oxford Street are likely to be more appropriate for incorporating residential accommodation, rather than above the principal frontages in the core zone south of Oxford Street - The Crown Estate will focus on these more appropriate areas sequentially
if a residential scheme is unlikely to be practical or appropriate within a particular development The Crown Estate will make a provision within the vicinity, namely the area encompassing Whitehall, Mayfair, St James, Regents Park and Soho
The Crown Estate may seek to locate a building or site which could provide a material residential provision in one building in the vicinity

to support this objective, the principle of a reverse Section 106 Agreement may be agreed whereby, at the time the planning consent is granted of the residential building, there is included a provision allowing The Crown Estate to meet its requirements for residential on commercial schemes by "drawing down" from the area constructed in the residential building
if The Crown Estate provides key worker housing at a higher rate than that recommended by the deposited UDP, The Crown Estate would like to be able to reduce the overall floor area of residential required

in the event of WCC agreeing that it is not appropriate or practical to make housing provision as part of the development scheme, The Crown Estate may provide an alternative planning obligation, for example in relation to a public realm enhancement or, failing that, a contribution towards residential provision generally, in line with the UDP