Oxford Street’s troubles

convictions are born of three decades of military service in Africa, the Balkans and Iraq, from which he learned that “people of all kinds have a need to be respected”. And gay rights are not entirely a new concern for the uup. In 1981 Jeffrey Dudgeon fought and won a battle in European courts to get Northern Ireland to follow Great Britain— belatedly—in decriminalising gay sex. In 2014 he was elected a uup councillor.

The uup’s modernising tone aims to capitalise on a striking feature of Northern Irish politics, says Jon Tonge of Liverpool University. Plenty of people, especially the young and women, support the Union with Britain but dislike proUnion politics’ theocratic bent—to the point where many abstain from voting. At least in theory, the dup’s social conservatism creates political space for an alternative line. Founded by Ian Paisley, a preacher who vowed to “Save Ulster from Sodomy”, it opposed samesex marriage until the change was, in effect, imposed by London in January 2020.

In June Paula Bradley, the dup’s deputy leader, formally apologised for its “atrocious” record on gay rights. But some of its most promising figures have been ostracised when they have tried to persuade colleagues to become less socially conservative. One was Guy Spence, who became deputy mayor of Belfast in 2015, aged 23. Last year he abruptly quit the dup and the political arena. One point of friction, he says, was his belief that the party should move in a progressive direction, for example by supporting Gay Pride events.

Anton ThompsonMcCormick, a gay writer who lives in England but had an Ulster Protestant upbringing, spies a streak of pragmatism in the dup’s natural voters that he thinks will eventually bring them around. When samesex marriage was imposed by London, he says, this raised hackles among people in the province who take pride in being “thran”, a local word for stubborn. Ultimately, he believes, they will realise that “thranness and queerness can live together”. Until then Mr Beattie will continue to ruffle feathers—and Sinn Fein, which is staunchly progay rights, will rejoice over its adversaries’ confusion. n

The Marble Arch mound Over the hills

How to lure shoppers off their computers? With a heap of earth, apparently

The 25m-high artificial hill at one end of Oxford Street dubbed the Marble cent, taking in Hyde Park, the Shard and the London Eye (an unfortunate reminder Arch Mound opened in July. It was supposed to help lure shoppers freed from lockdown away from internet stores and back to Britain’s bestknown shopping thoroughfare. But once the first visitors were allowed on it, it was revealed to be a mess. Rain swept turf off the slopes, leaving bare scaffolding on view. What grass remained turned brown. To Britons familiar with children’s television, it was reminiscent of a shabby, lowrent Teletubbyland.

During construction the cost ballooned from £3.3m ($4.7m) to £6m. After it opened, plans to charge for entry were scrapped. The deputy leader of Westminster Council, which commissioned the mound from mvrdv, a Dutch design company, resigned. Opposition councillors said the mound was “an international embarrassment” and called for it to be dismantled immediately. It is due to come down as planned on January 9th.

It has managed to draw in passersby, perhaps in search of a chuckle. By December 13th 215,000 had visited, not far off Westminster Council’s goal of 280,000 (which was based on plans to charge up to £8 for entry). On a sunny day the view is dethat other, better views are available). On a recent morning a dozen people milled about on its rickety viewing platform. “We wouldn’t have paid, mind you,” says a couple from Bristol. The structure feels “temporary”, says another sightseer. You enter via a ramp alongside some scrappy planting, and leave through the interior, a maze of scaffolding that creaks with every step.

Before covid19 Oxford Street was already struggling, overdependent on department stores that were losing the retail battle to online shopping, and lacking the restaurants, bars and gyms that would attract visitors round the clock. Air pollution and traffic made it a miserable place to stroll. Pedestrianising could have helped, but was opposed by residents of other parts of the West End who feared displaced traffic.

During the pandemic Oxford Street also suffered disproportionately. According to Cushman & Wakefield, a property consultancy, and MyTraffic, a dataanalytics firm, in the year from March 2020 footfall declined more than in any other major European shopping district. Sales are below the level of 2019, says Marie Hickey of Savills, an estate agent. Between March 2020 and August 2021 a fifth of its stores closed. Five department stores are downsizing or converting retail space into offices.

Westminster Council’s proposal for revival, announced in February 2021, was a £150m facelift. It included making temporarily widened pavements permanent, installing public art, upgrading nearby parks—and the mound. Some of this is sensible, in particular the wider pavements: shoppers are more likely to visit bricksandmortar outlets if walking between them is more pleasant. Rents have come down since before the pandemic, too, which makes retail more viable. But the only longterm solution for Oxford Street, says Ms Hickey, is becoming less retailheavy and more mixeduse.

Look past the gimmicky mound, and there are early signs that things are heading in the right direction. ikea will open up shop in 2023. Some department stores are planning gyms, pools and restaurants. Perhaps the pandemic was just what Oxford Street needed. Business had got so bad that it forced muchneeded change. n