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Making sure the trading environment is welcoming and safe is critical for our members, their customers, guests, staff and the wider community. Marble Arch London BID has a modest levy income compared to other BIDs in Westminster, but strong compared to the national high street average. Our role on transformative schemes is therefore not one of funder, but one of lobbyist and promoter. Working with Transport for London, Westminster Council, The Portman Estate and The Church Commissioners, the BID provides a critical mechanism for leveraging investment, generating support and building consensus.

Junctions and Safety Schemes

Through a strategic partnership with TfL the district has seen a significant investment in junction safety along the length of the BID area. This was a key piece of feedback from consultation with people who work, live and study in the area 10 years ago – that Edgware Road felt hostile and unsafe for pedestrians. Safety schemes with new signalised pedestrian crossing points have been delivered at the following junctions:

  • Harrow Road and Edgware Road
  • Praed Street and Chapel Street with Edgware Road
  • Sussex Gardens and Old Marylebone Road with Edgware Road
  • Burwood Place and Harrowby Street with Edgware Road
  • Kendal Street and George Street with Edgware Road
  • Connaught Street and Upper Berkeley Street with Edgware Road
  • Seymour Street with Edgware Road
  • Marble Arch and Great Cumberland Place
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With Westminster City Council the BID has supported the introduction of a side road crossings trial on Chapel Street, with Cabbell Street and Transept Street. Active travel schemes have also been delivered, with the BID supporting cycleways 27 and 43, enabling people who live, work and go to school in the area to cycle more safely within the district.

The BID has been a big advocate for improving safety in streets through increased lighting and our interventions have seen re-lighting projects by both the Council and TfL across the BID area, including on:

  • Burwood Place
  • Cabbell Street
  • Chapel Street
  • Connaught Place
  • Connaught Square
  • Crawford Place
  • Edgware Road
  • Marble Arch
  • Norfolk Crescent
  • Transept Street
  • Stourcliffe Street

Gateway Projects and Small-Scale Public Realm Interventions

In the BID’s first term we invested heavily in uplifting some of the gateways to the BID area, by introducing improved arrival points for people using both Edgware Road (district line) and Marble Arch stations. At Edgware Road station we teamed up with TfL to improve external signage, internal tiling and directly funded London’s biggest Legible London map in the ticket hall. At Marble Arch we brightened up the subway between the ticket hall and the island with a 43-panel display celebrating the heritage of the district.

In the BID’s second term we introduced small planter schemes at Burwood Place and Sussex Gardens and provided vital seating for people to take a rest, meet up with neighbours, gather their breath and sit out in the fresh air. These light touch schemes have led to additional benches being installed in the BID area by TfL, with a total of 11 new spots to sit on, or adjacent to, Edgware Road.

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Sustainability and Resilience

TfL’s biggest sustainable urban drainage system (SuDS) was completed around the Marylebone Flyover in 2024. The gardens have a rainfall catchment area of 3,500m2 and can deal with a flood ranging from one in 5 years to one in 20 years. The gardens host 11 new trees, 1,100 plants and shrubs and 2,300 bulbs.

The BID has directly funded the information boards explaining how the gardens and their drainage systems work, biodiversity assets like bee posts and is responsible for the vital maintenance of the gardens, including weeding and re-planting. This ground-breaking arrangement serves as a flagship template for future TfL SuDS.

Local businesses and schools have stepped up to take part in regular litter picks and planting activities, taking joy in seeing the gardens flourish.

TfL completed the safety scheme at the junction of Edgware Road, Sussex Gardens and Old Marylebone Road in February 2026. This scheme saw the benefit of 135 m2 of additional footway plus three additional SuDS or rain gardens added to the northbound slip road, reducing surface water flooding and keeping rainwater from overwhelming drains by holding the water in the gardens themselves. The three new rain gardens cover 143 m2 and were planted with 1,030 bulbs, 517 plants and five new trees. The gardens have capacity to handle a one in ten year storm and have a combined water catchment area of 1,547 m2.

This work complements the new Sustainability Exchange proposed in the third term, with businesses growing their knowledge and appreciation of sustainability and resilience.

TfL and the Mayor have invested heavily in walking and cycling across London, including in the Marble Arch BID area, with safer junction schemes and new signalised crossings the length of Edgware Road, from the Marylebone Flyover to Marble Arch. The latest scheme, at Sussex Gardens and Old Marylebone Road, will include even more SuDS following the completion of the Joe Strummer rain gardens in 2024.

Greening the capital’s spaces is so important, both to improve London’s resilience as well as to promote biodiversity and wellbeing. We are grateful to Marble Arch BID for taking on the maintenance of the SuDS around the Marylebone Flyover and at Sussex Gardens and bringing the community together to tend to the rain gardens as they come to life.

Will Norman, Walking and Cycling Commissioner

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Problem-Solving

The BID is seen as a vital resource for local problem-solving and acts as the go-to for businesses and residents alike. Over ten years we have supported businesses on issues including pest control, pavement vaults, A-boards, tables and chairs, parking restrictions, waste collection, fly-tipping, short-term lets, big black bins, rough sleeping, smoking regulations, air quality, crime and anti-social behaviour, cycle parking, private hire vehicles, Oxford Street proposals, planning enforcement, pedicabs and street lighting.

Since 2020 the BID has funded a Neighbourhood Co-ordinator covering the BID area, to help fast-track problems on behalf of our members. This gives dedicated support on a wide range of Council issues. Through the Edgware Road Strategy Group regular co-ordination takes place between statutory agencies, the BID and major landlords.

We are so grateful for the BID’s support, keeping us safe and keeping us informed. The team have built a real sense of community in this area, and we feel very much part of something wonderful. It is so helpful to know that there is advice available about how students can stay safe and that we can make contact any time to ask for help. The team are a reassuring local presence. Thank you.

Maggie Melville, Sylvia Young Theatre School, Nutford Place

Festive Displays, Public Art and Pop-Ups

The BID first brought Christmas lights to Edgware Road in 2016, from Marylebone Flyover to Marble Arch, to support out retail members at one of their busiest times of the year. In 2024 the BID introduced a Ramadan light display, recognising businesses and BID members observing Ramadan and providing a welcoming focal point for those visiting Edgware Road for Iftar.

Public art, projections and installations have enabled the BID to work in partnership with a range of agencies and stakeholders to bring colour, art, light, fun and interest to the district, including Westminster Council’s City of Sculpture, Studio Canal, the National Portrait Gallery and various charities promoting free art trails.

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