Placemaking is an overused and oft-abused word, but never underestimate the power of public-realm improvement to hot up a neighbourhood. Take Mount Street, Mayfair. A few years ago, it was spruced up by an £80m public-realm improvement funded by the Grosvenor Estate, and it is now a swish rival to buzzy Marylebone High Street.
“Mount Street has surpassed almost every address in Mayfair, with £4,000 a sq ft achievable for best-in-class homes,” says Simon Tollit, director of Tedworth Property estate agency. “That’s due in no small part to the improvement of the local infrastructure.”
