CLIENT: Heart of London Business Improvement District

PROJECT: West End Licensing Study

Leicester Square 2.jpg

What were MAKE asked to do?

Heart of London Business Alliance (HoLBA) operates four business improvement districts (BIDs) in the West End of London (Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, St James and Piccadilly). Westminster City Council was renewing its licensing policy and MAKE were asked to respond on behalf of HoLBA to the council’s official consultation process. The aim was to help the council better understand the likely impact on BID members from some of its licensing proposals. 

How did MAKE do it?

  • We reviewed the council’s licensing consultation document and evidence base as well as crime data and the council’s own vision, planning documents and corporate plan 

  • We used data from our own NightMix economic metrics modelling tool to demonstrate the nature of Westminster’s changing evening and night-time economy and its value to the City of Westminster as well as to London 

  • We surveyed BID members and asked them how the current policy worked and how it could be changed to support responsible licensees whilst still protecting the public and residents. 

What happened next?

Along with our other responses at this time for other stakeholders (such as Shaftesbury plc) there appears to have been a shift in how Westminster views the ENTE, with councillors clearly talking about the benefits of an evening economy rather than just the negatives of the night-time economy. 

What unique value did MAKE bring to this project?

Because MAKE has a unique knowledge of the evening and night-time economy market in London as combined with licensing legislation and an understanding of the local politics, only MAKE were able to construct a response that continued to help Westminster develop a more nuanced licensing approach.