The Crown Estate has set out plans for a £500 million investment and regeneration programme in St James's, London, where it owns around 50 per cent of the buildings.

Over the next 10 years £1 billion St James's holdings will be targeted for investment that will:

• deliver over 500,000 ft² of newly developed and refurbished modern offices, promoting St James’s as a successful and distinct sector of the West End office market
• enhance St James's position as a stimulating and eclectic shopping and dining destination by introducing new high quality occupiers
• increase the provision of high-end residential accommodation in St James's
• significantly improve the area’s public realm by introducing new crossings, wider footways and reduced street clutter, redressing the balance between pedestrians and vehicles
• respect St James's celebrated heritage with development schemes that deliver architectural excellence.

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James Cooksey, Head of St James's portfolio at The Crown Estate said: "We are setting out our vision for the future of St James's and publishing a series of nine strategies that will guide our delivery of this vision. As a major St James's landowner and with a proven track record in partnership-led urban regeneration in Regent Street, The Crown Estate is ideally placed to work with the local community, landowners, businesses and political authorities, to deliver dramatic and lasting improvements in the area but importantly, to protect and enhance what makes it a cherished part of the West End, its unique history, heritage and architecture."

(CD/KMcA)