Out-Law News

Farrell to unveil masterplan of London's "Midtown"


Architect Sir Terry Farrell is due to unveil a masterplan for the regeneration of the area to the east of Oxford Street, which is planned to become London's "Midtown".

Farrell has worked with 'Inmidtown', which represents the interests of 560 local businesses, to draw up the masterplan and revitalise and attract investment to the area, which covers Holborn, St Giles and Bloomsbury.

The "Midtown Vision" is expected to be unveiled tomorrow and is aimed at "undoing Holborn's dreadful gyratory system", improving public areas and making people aware of the area's significance, said Farrell according, to a report in The Times.

The area is undergoing extensive development with the construction of two Crossrail stations under Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road.

"This is an aspirational masterplan, which will show how the whole is greater than the sum of its parts," said Farrell, according to the Times report. "I really think Holborn's time has come."

The masterplan recommends the phasing out of one-way systems on High Holborn to ease traffic flow and make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists, the Times article said. It also recommends removing street clutter, planting more trees, improving street lighting and better signposting to integrate the area,

"Few people know that the Great Plague started here or that the ghost of Oliver Cromwell is rumoured to haunt Red Lion Square," said Tass Mavrogordato, chief executive of Inmidtown. "We want to take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ensure this district is returned to its former glory as London's business and cultural centre."

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