VICTORIA Vibrancy Report 2017

Victoria Business Improvement District 2nd Floor, 14 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0QP VICTORIA T 020 3004 0786 F 020 7821 5022 E info@victoriabid.co.uk Vibrancy Report 2017 www.victoriabid.co.uk @VictoriaBID www.facebook.com/victoriabid THE VICTORIA BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT www.vimeo.com/victoriabid A report by Volterra Partners Cover photo credit: Landsec VICTORIA BID VIBRANCY REPORT 2017 Foreword The Victoria Vibrancy Report 2017 arrives in a period of nationals and international investment after the withdrawal significant change at the local, regional and national level. of the UK from the European Union in 2019. In recent months Victoria has seen the completion of Perhaps the most important message in the Vibrancy phase one of the flagship Nova development by Landsec Report is that Victoria is once again becoming a place. and the opening of Sir Simon Milton Square, creating a Over 25% of people arriving in Victoria Station remain in vibrant new hub in the heart of the BID. A new entrance our BID area; an area which now supports some 43,000 from the Underground Station to Cardinal Place has also jobs and offers a genuine mix of places to work, live and opened, representing the first steps in the rejuvenation relax. The report also underscores the national importance of this vital transport hub. These schemes represent of Victoria in generating some £3.1billion in GVA and major milestones in the transformation of Victoria, and contributing some £105million in business rates to the we anticipate that change will continue apace for the Exchequer every year. Despite this success, with job creation next three years with a further 79,000m2 of commercial having outstripped many comparative areas in recent years, space, 7,000m2 of retail space, 800 homes and 60 new the report also makes clear that business must continue hotel rooms forecast for delivery. to work together to achieve a step change in the pace of delivery of new office space and homes if we are to keep up At a regional level, London has suffered a number of with demand and for rents to remain affordable. terrorist attacks, emphasising the importance of safety and security to our businesses and everyone who lives, spends Integral to the success of Victoria and London is the station time in, or travels through our area. Significant changes itself. It both underpins our local economy, and serves are also taking place on the road network, with Transport as a gateway to London for workers and visitors to the for London having delivered the first major changes to bus Capital. Crossrail 2 has the potential to be the catalyst for routes in a generation in preparation of major transport the rejuvenation of the station. However at a time when changes to nearby Oxford Street and the Strand. The passenger congestion continues to rise and the station Victoria BID will seek to ensure that these changes are fails to provide an arrival experience befitting a global city, beneficial to our area and that we remain one of the most Victoria and London cannot wait over a decade for any accessible areas in our capital. further investment. Improving the public realm around the station is also vital if we are to improve air quality, reduce Contents Nationally we are in a period of great uncertainty. Brexit road accidents and traffic congestion which undermine and increasing global competition at a time of continued Victoria’s living environment. The BID will therefore retrenchment in public finance present both a threat and continue to call for early investment in our infrastructure an opportunity. Where threats present themselves, working FOREWORD 2 and explore creative solutions with the public and private on behalf of our businesses we will seek to mitigate these to sector, in order to make this happen. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 create a safe, welcoming, economically vibrant community. And where opportunities arise we will seek to capitalise The Vibrancy Report captures all of these issues and more, INTRODUCTION 9 on these to ensure Victoria remains attractive to EU providing a snapshot, baseline and evidence base for our ambitions to create a vibrant destination for those working, 10 ECONOMIC CONTEXT visiting and living in Victoria. ACCESSIBILITY 25 Nigel Hughes MBE, Chairman, DEVELOPMENT PIPELINE 32 Victoria Business Improvement District POTENTIAL FOR INTENSIFICATION 34 Ruth Duston, Chief Executive, Victoria Business Improvement District CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 36 APPENDICES 38 1 Unless otherwise stated, all photos by Mickey Lee. © 2017 Victoria Business Improvement District 2 VICTORIA BID VIBRANCY REPORT 2017 Executive Summary Victoria Business Improvement District (VBID) was THE CONTEXT established in 2010 to support the development of the Victoria area and create a vibrant destination for those working, visiting and living in the area. Volterra was commissioned by VBID to produce an Deprived neighbourhoods economic assessment of the area to understand its current performance, how it has changed historically and the area’s future potential in the context of the development pipeline and investment in the area. Victoria currently supports Victoria generates an At 2.3% per annum Victoria is extremely well There are high levels Victoria had high office Only 2,900 people live in 27% of jobs in Victoria an estimated 43,000 jobs in estimated £3.1bn in GVA between 2003 and connected, with over 80m of deprivation in Victoria. rents, low vacancy rates VBID, meaning its population are in the public sector - VBID encompasses a 43 ha area entirely within the one of the densest parts of annually and tax revenues 2015, employment in users each of both rail and Over 80% of the area is and had low SME growth. density is only around half of compared to less than 5% central London in the region of £1bn. The VBID has grown faster tube. It is the 2nd busiest within the worst 5% in Only two of London’s the borough average. 39% of in both Cheapside and Soho. City of Westminster (CoW), equivalent to 2% of the businesses alone contribute than the borough tube station and Victoria England in terms of 330 recorded incubators, residents are over 45, which Victoria also supports a high borough. It is one of the most accessible parts of the an estimated £105m pa in average, although Coach station is the largest living environment accelerators and co-working means it has a considerably number of head office and business rates slower than some coach station in London. An spaces are within the area older population than other management consultancy country with London Victoria, the second busiest rail other parts of estimated 75% of station parts of the capital jobs (which make up 15% of station in the country and Victoria Coach Station, central London users travel on to jobs total employment) elsewhere across London, the largest coach station in London, both in the highlighting the strategic importance of Victoria station study area. to the whole of London The area is a key tourist location, near Buckingham Palace and the Royal Parks, and it accommodates DEVELOPMENT & CHANGE ECONOMIC POTENTIAL a significant amount of economic activity. Major new developments and investment projects in the area include Landsec’s Nova development and the TfL Victoria Station Upgrade both of which are part Nova complete. VBID aims to capitalise on the significant development planned and underway in Victoria to ensure it continues to make a major contribution to the capital’s economy. Significant development is The key development within Significant 5,200 new jobs and The past performance of the area, and its development pipeline to 2020, suggest that it should be aiming planned and underway in Victoria is an 83k sqm mixed improvements between 1,100 and 1,400 for an additional 1,300 jobs per year to 2036 which is equivalent to adding approximately an additional Victoria including 79k sqm use development named Nova. to transport and new residents to 2020. £100m in GVA and £30m in tax revenues per annum. In order to achieve this, Victoria would need to of office, 7k sqm of retail, This will significantly change infrastructure at Victoria Equivalent to annual job ensure that its offer is diverse and appealing enough to fill this scale of growth 800 residential units and 60 the area near the station and is underground station growth of 2.9% - higher than hotel rooms responsible for the majority will be completed soon recent growth of 2.1% - and of additional floorspace but given the scale of annual population growth of within the area growth in development between 6.4% and 8.1% - a and traffic it is likely significant impact on the size that further investment of the local population Victoria needs to will still be needed become a place, not RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Victoria is one of the most important business districts for London. 2. Despite being economically important, the lack of supply of office to other destinations (around three quarters of users are making trips to simply a place to VBID should: space is potentially hindering growth. VBID should: Victoria for leisure purposes or to continue their commute onto to other • continue to demonstrate the economic contribution of the area (43K jobs, • ensure the continued delivery of new floorspace to ensure rents remain parts of the capital) affordable for businesses; current vacancy rates imply that there is £3bn GVA, £1bn tax revenues, £105 business rates) • VBID should promote improvements to public realm around the station and pass through. effectively no supply in Victoria • attract more corporates to continue to reduce the past reliance on the more widely within the VBID in order to tackle the poor levels of air quality Westminster City Council, public sector • consider the role of incubator / shared workspace providers and the and high number of road traffic accidents identified possibility of attracting these to Victoria.

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