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Paddington Street Gardens and Moxon Street: Why Marylebone Must Not Become Another Corporate Victoria Street

Date: 06 Dec 2025

Karen Jones

You can read more about BID’s here – Against BID – also visit their funding page

Harley Street Bid is paid for by business levies and has no reason to serve residents. It remains in place by businesses voting for them to stay in place. They run for 5 year terms and have to provide value to businesses to get voted back in. Like for instance re purposing Paddington Street Gardens for corporate use. Although it is a not for profit it acts and receives money from For Profit business like property developers and hospitality businesses.

“Marylebone Square now stands on the site of the former Marylebone Farmers’ Market, developed by Concord London. To my eye it is one of the least sympathetic buildings in the neighbourhood, out of keeping with the surrounding streetscape. Its large pale façade gives it the feel of a giant marshmallow that has dropped in from Dubai, and it illustrates how far new schemes can diverge from Marylebone’s established character.”

By Karen Jones, Citywealth
Email: kjones@citywealthmag.com
Telephone: 020 7487 5858

“It seems the Howard de Walden are behind the commission or funding of the Harley Street Bid but despite their message of helping the area, in fact Marylebone has become highly commercialised – full of American and big brand shops on the high street, full of rubbish – all over the streets from take-away shops, Air BnB overwhelming apartments and astronomical rents now only available to international corporates as the prices surge to £4000 a month for a one bed apartment and despite this still no availability. Initiatives in play are having a huge, detrimental effect on the ability for private residents to live in the area; squeezing out small businesses and building luxury apartments with huge price tags presumably aimed at foreign buyers. The loss of Paddington Street Gardens to a not for profit that acts for For Profit businesses would be a reversal of Marylebone as a beautiful neighbourhood area.”

With all these powerful stake holders Marylebone is experiencing one of the most significant changes in decades. The arrival of the Harley Street Business Improvement District (BID), its public realm masterplan, and now the Moxon Street consultation, has brought new attention to the fate of Paddington Street Gardens and surrounding streets. What for some is “investment” looks, to many residents, like the early stages of a shift towards the highly curated corporate character seen in Victoria Street. An area awash with large bars, huge, corporate offices and a massive shopping centre now.

This article investigates who is driving these changes, why Moxon Street and Paddington Street Gardens matter, and how Marylebone residents can protect the true village identity that has defined the area for generations.

What Is at Stake in Paddington Street Gardens?

Paddington Street Gardens, a historic burial ground with listed monuments, is one of Marylebone’s most cherished spaces. It is a place for families, elderly residents, dog walkers and nearby schoolchildren. It is not simply a “green asset” but a centre of neighbourhood life. It has the spirit of a community space where residents and workers meet for coffee and to eat a sandwich in peace. It is the spiritual Marylebone Green.

Heritage background:
St Marylebone Parish Church
https://stmarylebone.org/about-us/heritage/death-in-st-marylebone/burial-grounds/paddington-gardens/

The Harley Street BID masterplan repeatedly refers to the gardens as an “opportunity site” and part of a wider “green grid”, and its partner organisations have already supported funding bids for surveys and feasibility work. Remember to stay in ‘business’ they have to serve the businesses they take money from. Not residents.

For many residents, the concern is not greenery or benches. It is mission creep. What starts as planting, play space and path reconfiguration can open the door to more intensive commercialisation and event use. There is talk of an ‘educational classroom for children’ but no-one knows if we get precedent of a classroom building on Paddington Street Gardens (PSG) whether that opens the door to wholescale property development. I have seen in my own street Montagu Mews North, that when there are precedents, its very hard to push back on future similar developments for instance building higher and higher on buildings in the area. I have also been witness to planning meetings where people councilors say “oh well its been done before, so I guess we have to say yes”.

Why Moxon Street Is the Trial Balloon for Bigger Change

The Moxon Street Public Realm Improvement Scheme is the first concrete example of BID led intervention.

Consultation page:
https://moxonstreetpublicrealm.commonplace.is

Key facts:

The language is familiar from redevelopment zones across London. Phrases such as “activation”, “improved flows”, “upgraded pedestrian realm” and “supporting local businesses” appear again and again. These initiatives are not inherently negative, but combined with major new developments, they often serve as precursors to large scale district repositioning.

What Is the Harley Street BID?

BID website:
https://harleystreetbid.com

The Harley Street Bid Masterplan site:
https://harleystreetbidmasterplan.com

Who Sits on the BID Board? Meet the Decision Makers

These are the individuals influencing how Marylebone’s streets and parks are developed available from web search.

Major Property and Estate Interests

Simon William de Mouchet Baynham
Former Property Director, The Howard de Walden Estate
Widely credited with transforming Marylebone High Street and expanding the Harley Street medical area.

Andrea Merrington
Planning and Engagement Director, Howard de Walden Estate
Responsible for conservation, design and planning across the Estate’s acreage.

Christopher Timothy Murray
Managing Director, Concord London
Developer of Marylebone Square, the major new luxury apartment block that replaced the farmers’ market. The one that looks like a huge Dubai Marshmallow.

Also Cllr Karen Scarborough

Karen is delighted and excited to support the BID in promoting all businesses in the area whilst continuing to maintain and promote the Harley Street area as a centre of medical excellence.

Healthcare, Hospitality and Venue Operators in Marylebone also wanting ‘improvements’

George Christopher Hammer
Founder of Urban Retreat and One Events
Influential in lifestyle and hospitality venue strategy and use of public space.

Matthew Robert Tolchard
Head of Commercial Activities, The King’s Fund
Oversees No. 11 Cavendish Square, a major events and conference venue.

The King’s Fund is not on the Harley Street BID board because of its royal links. The charity’s own history shows that it was founded in 1897 as the Prince of Wales’s Hospital Fund for London and later became The King’s Fund when its founder became King Edward VII. King Charles III is now its Royal Patron, following many years of involvement with the organisation. At the same time, The King’s Fund operates independently as a health charity and think tank. Its role in the Harley Street BID arises from its ownership of No. 11 Cavendish Square, a major commercial conference and events venue which it promotes as a hospitality site and which generates income for the charity. In this context, both The King’s Fund and the not for profit Harley Street BID sit in the discussion as significant organised business interests. Residents are entitled to ask whether the priorities of those interests always match the day to day concerns of people who live around Paddington Street Gardens and Moxon Street.

BID and Institutional Actors

Representatives from:

  • HCA Healthcare and other private hospital operators
  • Welbeck Health Partners (Olivia Howes) • Responsible for launching and scaling joint venture clinician partnerships at Welbeck Health Partners.
    • Responsible for the overall business performance of operating partnerships including doctor partner engagement and development and execution of rolling 5-year growth strategies.
    • Responsible for the launch of new partnerships including advising on multi-million-pound capital project business cases, centre set up road maps, clinician partnership engagement strategies, facility and operational pathways design, and staffing model development.
  • BID consultancy Primera
  • https://primera-corp.co.uk/team/
  • Ruth Duston OBE
  • Founder and Chief Executive
  • Ruth is Primera’s founder and Chief Executive, and has spent over 30 years influencing and implementing programmes of social and economic benefit, from neighborhood regeneration and community capacity building through to place based strategies and the creation and implementation of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). Since she established Primera in 2004 the company has undertaken several commissions for some of the key landowners in central and outer London, which includes Argent, Land Sec and the Cadogan Estate.
  • Howard de Walden have commissioned the Harley Street Bid.
  • Details of Paddington Street Gardens here

What is missing is any guaranteed, voting residents’ representative.

Why Residents Compare What Is Happening to Victoria Street

Victoria Street underwent a BID assisted transformation in the last decade. Public realm improvements were paired with major estate led developments by Landsec and others. The district shifted from a mixed and slightly tired character to a corporate focused landscape of glass offices, international tenants and curated open spaces.

Example:
Cardinal Place
https://landsec.com/properties/cardinal-place-sw1

Marylebone residents look at the language and the actors now involved in their neighbourhood and see worrying parallels.

Who Represents Marylebone? Local Councillors and Cabinet Leaders

Below are direct, reachable officials. All details are publicly provided for democratic contact.

Westminster Council Cabinet

Leader – Cllr Adam Hug
leader@westminster.gov.uk / ahug@westminster.gov.uk
Telephone: 07929 664919

Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development – Cllr Geoff Barraclough
gbarraclough@westminster.gov.uk

Cabinet Member for Climate, Ecology and Culture – Cllr Ryan Jude
rjude@westminster.gov.uk

Cabinet Member for City Management and Air Quality – Cllr Max Sullivan
msullivan@westminster.gov.uk

Marylebone Ward Councillors

Conservative

Cllr Barbara Arzymanow
barzymanow@westminster.gov.uk

Cllr Ian Rowley
irowley@westminster.gov.uk

Cllr Karen Scarborough ALSO on the board of The Harley Street Bid
kscarborough@westminster.gov.uk

Labour

Rachel Blake MP
Labour Member of Parliament for Cities of London and Westminster

Address: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Email: rachel.blake.mp@parliament.uk  Website: www.rachelblake.org.uk
Twitter: @RNBlake

Who Else Influences Decisions in Marylebone?

Marylebone Forum

The Marylebone Neighbourhood Forum is supposed to represent local people in planning policy and CIL funding priorities, yet around half of its committee are non residents linked to major BIDs and estates.

General contact:
chair@maryleboneforum.org
https://www.maryleboneforum.org

Non resident committee members include representatives from:
Baker Street Quarter Partnership, Marble Arch BID, St Marylebone Parish Church, The Portman Estate, Howard de Walden Estate, The Crown Estate, Harley Street BID and New West End Company.

This concentration of corporate and landowning interests is a key reason residents question whether the Forum truly represents them.

Penny Alexander

Baker Street Quarter Partnership

Penny is Chief Executive of Baker Street Quarter Partnership, a BID representing c.200 businesses and landowners in the wider Baker Street area. The organisation works to drive forward positive change to ensure a thriving and prosperous community for everyone, with a range of initiatives including public realm improvements, facilitating security monitoring and training, social and wellbeing events and activities, area promotion and encouraging sustainability. Penny’s priorities for Marylebone are to continue to enhance the area for those that work in, live in and visit the area and believes strongly in a collaborative approach to achieving this, bringing together businesses, their employees and residential communities.

Kay Buxton
Marble Arch BID

Kay is Chief Executive of Marble Arch London BID, which stretches from Park Lane to Paddington Green and includes Marble Arch and Edgware Road at the Forum’s western boundary. The BID works with businesses, landlords, estates and the local community to improve Edgware Road and its surroundings, through a dedicated Street Team, public realm improvements, destination marketing, volunteering, and training to the 200 offices, shops, hotels, and restaurants, that make up the business community. As a Chartered Town Planner Kay is supporting the Plan Sub-committee to develop the Neighbourhood Plan for Marylebone.

The Revd Canon Dr Stephen Evans
St Marylebone Parish Church

Stephen became Rector of St Marylebone (both the geographical area and the parish church) in September 2010 and lives locally with his family in Beaumont Street. Stephen’s priorities for the area include tackling the issues of air quality, traffic congestion and limited green and open spaces. He believes in investing in the quality of community life for everyone in Marylebone to make it a true living, sustainable and vibrant place where people want to live, work, study and shop.


Simon Loomes (Secretary & Acting Chair)
The Portman Estate

Simon is Strategic Projects Director for The Portman Estate, a company which comprises 110 acres of Marylebone including frontages on Oxford Street and Baker Street. His responsibilities cover the delivery of the Estate’s major development schemes as well as area-wide strategies including town planning, stakeholder engagement and public realm. Simon’s priority for Marylebone is to see sustainability become a core focus, putting air quality, the environment and wellbeing at the heart of regeneration in the area. Simon was elected as Secretary in 2020.

Andrea Merrington
Howard de Walden Estate

Andrea Merrington, Planning Director at the Howard de Walden Estate, heads up the Town Planning team and is responsible for all matters relating to design and conservation and town planning across 92 acres of principally medical, office, residential and retail property in Marylebone which makes up the Estate. Andrea joined the Estate is 2009 and plays a significant role in not only Town Planning but also engagement with valued stakeholders such as Westminster City Council, surrounding businesses and occupiers around the Estate. Andrea is currently the vice chair of the Westminster Property Association’s Senior Advisory Committee and sits on the Board of the Harley Street Partnership BID.

Zayna Over, The Crown Estate

Nicki Palmer
Harley Street BID

Nicki is Director of the Harley Street BID. Nicki has significant experience and knowledge of BIDs, having worked from the inception stages, through the ballot process and to the delivery of many successful BIDs across London. In April 2020, She took on the exciting challenge of developing the Harley Street Partnership, and the Partnership became a formalised BID in December 2021. Nicki is determined that the Harley Street BID will position itself as an effective tool to ensure the business community is fully engaged across its footprint. Nicki will lead on planning the future of the Harley Street BID area and strive to deliver and guarantee that the BID brings value, a sense of community, recognition for the wealth of medical expertise and a collective voice for local businesses.

Nathan Parsad-Wyatt, New West End Company

St Marylebone Parish Church

The church is central to the history of Paddington Street Gardens and its Rector sits on the Forum committee.

The Revd Canon Dr Stephen Evans, Rector
rector@stmarylebone.org
Telephone: 020 7935 7315

This does have residents on its committee

Michael Bolt

Michael has lived in Marylebone for the past 20 years and has been involved in a large number of community matters over that time. Since 2009 he has sat on the Marylebone Association Committee dealing with many different areas of interest to residents, including licensing, planning, transport and city management. He was Chairman of the Marylebone Association between 2013 and 2016 and again from 2019 to 2022. During this time he has been keen to ensure residents’ concerns are represented effectively and has been heavily involved with many issues of concern to those who live in Marylebone. Michael has participated in the Marylebone Forum since its inception and prior to that the neighbourhood area designation process.

Sarah Buttleman

Sarah represents both the residential and worker communities having lived locally for 32 years, bringing up her family, as well as working as a solicitor for Streathers in Baker Street. She is also a school governor for the St Marylebone CE School. Her priorities for Marylebone are to ensure that it remains a good place to live, work and visit by supporting the needs of all of the area’s users.

Ann Marie Johnson

Ann Marie has been a resident homeowner in Marylebone for over 25 years and spent much of her working life based in the area and the West End. During this time, she has also played key roles in the community including being a trustee of Manchester Square, an NHS Health Champion on behalf of a local GP practice and sitting on various community committees including the Safer Neighbourhood Panel. Ann Marie’s priority for Marylebone is to ensure the best possible quality of life for local residents and workers in the area.

Ian Macpherson  (Treasurer)

Ian has lived in Marylebone for 40 years and prior to retirement, worked as a chartered surveyor in the area with a significant amount of his work related to properties in Marylebone. Ian would like to see a continuation of improvements to Marylebone for its residents, those who work here, as well as visitors. Ian was elected as Treasurer in 2019.

Julie Redmond

Julie was the Chair of the Marylebone Association from 2023-24. She has lived and worked in the area since 2005, was married in the Marylebone Town Hall and has a child at school in Marylebone. Her background is in medical training and pharmacology, having previously worked as an NHS A&E nurse. Julie stood as a candidate in the 2022 local elections. She believes the Marylebone community is like a family and she wants to make Marylebone a safer, cleaner area, to conserve green spaces and the character of the area, to help families and businesses thrive.

Yael Saunders

Yael was the Chair of Marylebone Forum between 2018-2025. She has lived in Marylebone for 20 years and became involved in local community matters in 2008 after hearing about plans to build on the Luxborough Street playground. With concerns about the lack of positive healthy opportunities for youngsters and the impact this has on the community, Yael helped to set up the campaign to save the playground, which then led to joining Marylebone Forum. Yael’s priorities include the provision of open access play space, the redevelopment of Seymour Leisure Centre and Library and encouraging the switch to electric vehicles.

Steve Thomas

Steve moved to Marylebone in 2005 and instantly loved the sense of community he found there, with the mix of long-term residents alongside businesses choosing to operate here creating a special neighbourhood. After finishing a career in the defence & security sectors in 2018, Steve has become ever more active in local issues and especially so with the onset of the pandemic, volunteering at GP surgeries and vaccination centres as well as supporting vulnerable residents. Steve has recently become chair of the Harrowby & District Residents Association and, as such, sits on the committee of the Marylebone Association. Steve’s priorities for Marylebone are a safe, walkable, cycle-friendly neighbourhood served effectively by local authority and police services so that it continues to be a great place to live as well as visit.

Contact Details for Organisations Behind Recent Changes

Harley Street BID
Nicki Palmer (nicki@harleystreetbid.com)
https://harleystreetbid.com
Telephone: 07939 946989

Concord London, developer of Marylebone Square

Founded by Terry Hui and Christopher Murray — the people behind “The Marshmallow”

Concord Pacific and W1 Developments — Concord London is a “premier

property developer recognized for delivering exceptional high-end residential

and mixed-use projects across the UK.”

Christopher Murray

christopher.murray@concordltd.com
info@concord-london.com

Press contact: Andrew Reid andrew.reid@concordltd.com
https://www.concord-london.com

https://concord-london.com/#team

Telephone: 020 7580 3899

Howard de Walden Estate

The King’s Fund and No. 11 Cavendish Square
Enquiries: 020 7307 2400
Venue: https://www.11cavendishsq.com

Contact the media and external engagement team

For the latest news from The King’s Fund or to be added to our news mailing service, please contact the media and external engagement office on 020 7307 2585 or email mediaoffice@kingsfund.org.uk (The inbox is only monitored between 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday. For out of hours call 020 7307 2585.)

Frank Rigby, Media and External Engagement Executive
Telephone: 020 7580 2864

Call to Action: A Seat at the Table, Not Just Another Consultation

At this point it is not enough for residents simply to respond to individual consultation surveys. Many find these consultations opaque and hard to understand, with no clear explanation of how views are evaluated or weighted against the interests of large estates and institutions. They also have very few residents at the table.

It is reasonable for residents to say:

No more opaque consultations without transparent evaluation and genuine shared decision making.

Until there is a clear framework for how resident input is treated, further tick box style consultations risk giving a veneer of consent to decisions that have already been shaped elsewhere.

Residents can now:

  1. Demand a more residents’ seat on the Harley Street BID board.
    If the BID is shaping public parks and streets, there must be formal resident representation at board level.
  2. Ask for a public register of interests for every BID director.
    This should include all property, development and hospitality interests in the area.
  3. Write to the Leader of Westminster Council and the relevant cabinet members to ask for a pause on any major changes to Paddington Street Gardens.
    No masterplan element should proceed without a public meeting in Marylebone and clear, published criteria showing how resident views will be weighed.
  4. Tell Westminster and the BID that consultations which are opaque or difficult to interpret are not acceptable.
    Residents can explicitly say that they will not support further processes of that kind, and that they expect clear documents in plain English explaining options, trade offs and evaluation criteria.
  5. Copy in Marylebone ward councillors, the Marylebone Forum and the Marylebone Association on all correspondence.
    That ensures every actor around the table is aware of local concerns.

The Future of Marylebone

Marylebone’s appeal has always rested on a balance of historic fabric, village scale, human sized green spaces and a mix of uses. The arrival of the Harley Street BID, the Moxon Street scheme and discussions about Paddington Street Gardens means that balance is now in question.

There is still time to ensure that the area does not drift towards the corporate feel of Victoria Street. That will depend on whether residents insist on more than consultation and ask for actual shared power.

For comment, information or to share local experiences, to offer help including legal or media help, readers can contact:

Karen Jones
Citywealth
Email: kjones@citywealthmag.com
Telephone: 020 7487 5858

Key Takeaways

  • Marylebone faces significant redevelopment pressures driven by the Harley Street BID and Moxon Street initiatives, leading to concerns among residents.
  • Paddington Street Gardens is a vital community space, but redevelopment plans risk its local identity and could encourage increased commercialisation.
  • Residents can push for more transparency and representation in decision-making processes about Paddington Street Gardens and Moxon Street redevelopment.

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