The Stage

Westminster council weighs up Theatreland rebranding plan

Published Tuesday 17 April 2007 at 14:55 by Alistair Smith

Bold plans to rebrand London’s Theatreland are being considered by Westminster City Council, as part of a multi-million pound revamp of the area.

Proposals to “give Theatreland a clear sense of place and consistent identity” have been submitted during the last few days by urban design company Turleys Associates. They aim to better define the geographically diverse area of the West End known as Theatreland, which includes 40 of the capital’s most famous and historic venues.

Turley associate director Ewan Smith told The Stage that the changes put forward by the design company would be significant, but that the plans were only a first draft and still needed to be approved by the council.

He added: “We are one of the biggest planning and urban design companies and this is obviously a major urban design project for us. Theatreland exists as a place, but when you think about it against the context of the whole of the West End, how can you identify Theatreland as a place within that? It’s also about getting the idea of Theatreland as a place within people’s imagination.

“It’s a complex, demanding and unique project. One of the challenges is that it comprises 40 theatres and they are quite spread. How do you get that idea of Theatreland to hang together?”

The project, which also involves design and communications consultancy Imagination and specialist consultancy I-Cube, will be funded by a mixture of public and private cash, and will also aim to make improvements to the lighting and streetscape in a number of key Theatreland destinations, such as Shaftesbury Avenue, St Martin’s Junction and Coventry Street.

Turley’s proposals form part of a wider £6 million project which was launched by Westminster council in 2005 and features a number of works designed to improve the atmosphere in theatregoing areas of the West End.

The Theatreland brand will now be considered by the local authority, as well as other key stakeholders in the area, such as the Society for London Theatre, the Theatres Trust and the theatre-owning groups. Initially the project will be restricted to the Westminster City Council area of the West End, but it is hoped that eventually it could be extended to include those parts of Theatreland which lie in Camden.