Policy information sourced from the Westminster City Plan

15. Visitor Economy

A: We will maintain and enhance the attractiveness of Westminster as a visitor destination, balancing the needs of visitors, businesses and local communities.

ARTS AND CULTURAL USES

B: All existing arts and cultural uses and uses of cultural significance will be protected and proposals for enhancement will be supported in principle. Proposals for new arts and cultural uses will be supported in:

  • Strategic Cultural Areas when they complement the existing cultural offer; and
  • the town centre hierarchy; and
  • commercial areas of the CAZ

Outside of the CAZ, new arts and cultural uses will be of a scale and nature appropriate to the local context and of benefit to the local community.

C: Commercial developments associated with an arts or cultural use should be clearly ancillary, maintain its core arts or cultural function which could not otherwise be achieved, and be of clear and lasting benefit to that use.

D: In the exceptional circumstances where it is necessary to redevelop a theatre or cinema, a replacement of equivalent size and standard will be required. Proposals to improve theatres and cinemas will be encouraged and should have particular regard to their heritage designation.

EVENTS IN THE PUBLIC REALM

E: Events in the public realm will benefit the city, its people and enterprises. They should support the character and function of the area in which they take place and must be organised in ways that minimise the impact on the long-term access to open space, amenity of residents, businesses and others, and maintain the quality of the public realm.

HOTELS AND CONFERENCE FACILITIES

F: Existing hotels will be protected, except where the proposal is in a predominantly residential area and would re-instate an original residential use, or where the existing use has significant negative effects on residential amenity.

G: New hotels and conference facilities will be directed to:

  • commercial areas of the CAZ; and
  • town centres that are District Centres or higher in the town centre hierarchy.

H: Applications for extensions and upgrades to existing hotels will have regard to impacts on the wider area. Development proposals should improve accessibility and enable the extended lifetime of buildings by incorporating principles and measures of sustainable design wherever possible. Development proposals should, where appropriate, reveal the historic significance of hotels located within heritage assets.

PUBLIC TOILETS

I: Safe, secure and publicly accessible toilets will be required in proposals that generate a large amount of visitors including large retail, leisure and entertainment developments, tourist attractions and transport interchanges.

For more information please see the City Plan