The Heart of London area has long been one of the most internationally renowned destinations for evening and night-time hospitality, culture, retail and entertainment. These sectors have been among the most heavily restricted over the pandemic. The increase in working from home and decline in international tourism have only exacerbated the impacts. We need careful planning, engagement and business-friendly policies to recover and diversify the 6pm-6am life of the area and we want to hear from local businesses to co-create a vision and action plan.

In response to the pandemic, we have seen businesses diversify, experiment and innovate, and local authorities fast-track public realm and licensing initiatives to help support businesses and communities. Against this backdrop, we are looking at how we can support a more resilient, diverse and inclusive evening and night life sector as part of a holistic 24-hour plan.

The objectives of the workshop are to:

1. Hear about the priorities and aspirations of businesses currently operating at night, and those wanting to extend and/or diversify their offer
2. Understand the barriers and challenges to running or establishing a business that operates after 6pm
3. Contribute towards a shared evening and night-time vision and action plan with concrete deliverablesFurther information will be circulated in advance of the event. The full list of workshops is below and you are welcome to attend any of these.

Please RSPV by responding to this email – and also share with colleagues who have an interest in improving the West End’s evening and the night-time economy. We sincerely hope to see you there. If the time is not convenient but you would like to take part, please do let me know.

To register for any of these events, please send an RSVP to Toni.spence@heartoflondonbid.co.uk