Fleet Street Quarter offers a blueprint for growth

An ambitious pocket of the City with 2000 years of history is redefining how urban commercial centres can work in a climate challenged world, says Lady Lucy French

In the age of climate change, the question is how can London rebuild in a way that creates sustainable economic growth? The answer could already exist within the Square Mile. Here, business improvement districts (BIDs), working closely with the City of London Corporation, are supporting transformation and witnessing economic growth that outpaces the rest of the nation.  

The Fleet Street Quarter, an area covering 43-hectares at the western end of the City, is emerging as a fast-growing centre for employment and economic development. Last month, we unveiled a fresh Baseline Economic Study showcasing how solid job growth in established and emerging sectors is creating a sustainable commercial hub. 

The study shows that since 2018, jobs in the Fleet Street Quarter area have risen 20.6%, equivalent to 15,700 workers, which represents a job growth rate 11.7% higher than levels across London as a whole. A major contributor to the City of London, the area generates tax revenues in excess of £4 billion. This robust pace of growth reflects how the area has expanded into an innovative business centre. 

This remarkable pocket of the City has an ambitious desire for change. Our Baseline Economic Study found that the area is already a location of choice for fast-growing sectors. The Fleet Street Quarter area has above national proportions of employees in FinTech, Data Infrastructure and CleanTech, with 13.1% employed in emerging sectors.

As a new era unfolds, collaboration will be critical in our ambition to redefine how urban commercial centres work in a climate challenged world. Our role as the BID is to bring together this change, driven by the business community, to reinvigorate the area as a thriving destination.

Historically synonymous with the media industry, Fleet Street and its surrounding network of squares and laneways, became a law and finance nucleus after the departure of newspapers. Attracted by the area’s gateway location between the City and West End, an influx of law and accountancy firms in the early 2000s laid the foundations for recent growth.  

Almost a quarter of the Fleet Street Quarter’s workforce are employed in the legal and accountancy sectors. Firms in these sectors offer high value employment, helping drive economic contribution in the area, which totals a GVA generation of over £11 billion. Combined with the area’s fast-growing tech firms, this creates an exciting opportunity for future growth. The Fleet Street Quarter is primed to connect the dots between law and tech to drive advancements in these fast paced and evolving sectors.

The City of London’s Salisbury Square redevelopment is an example of the potential to marry law and tech together. Located just off Fleet Street, Salisbury Square will provide 18 courtrooms and the new City of London Police HQ, equipped to combat next-generation cyber, economic and fraud crimes.

An unparalleled development pipeline with a GDV of £5 billion, will only intensify this progress. Cranes abound over the Fleet Street Quarter, as 34 new developments are set to redefine the area’s skyline and inspire the next wave of reinvention, set to bring 25,000 additional workers. Across the pipeline, developers are targeting the highest sustainability credentials, with many using green retrofitting techniques. 

The ascent of the Fleet Street Quarter area is backed by the City of London Corporation. In the recent City Plan 2040, the City of London designated Fleet Street Quarter as a Key Area of Change. The City Plan outlines the Fleet Street Quarter as a key location for the creation of additional retail and leisure assets to enliven the area and its economy. 

Creating a sustainable district is a key pillar of our vision. The City of London City Plan 2040 has identified the location as an area for key economic growth, and the City’s green targets will be central to the next exciting phase of expansion. Over the next year, the BID will launch a host of initiatives to accelerate growth whilst tackling environmental issues. 

Enhancing public realm will underpin a sustainable future, as the Fleet Street Quarter area provides the blueprint for the green reimagination of commercial centres. Last November, our £80 million public realm vision outlined 34 potential sites for public realm development. 

Going from strength-to-strength, the Fleet Street Quarter area is entering an exciting next chapter, in its 2000-year history of reinvention, that will help drive the City of London forwards for generations to come.

Lady Lucy French is CEO of the Fleet Street Quarter BID