BLOOMSBURY could become a media centre to rival Canary Wharf and Soho if a £25 million redevelopment of the Brunswick Centre is a success, according to television boss Mark Wood.
Mr Wood, chief executive of news organisation ITN, which employs more than 900 people in Gray’s Inn Road, said his staff were “crying out for decent shopping” within walking distance of their office.
With publications such as the Spectator magazine already based in Bloomsbury and The Guardian and Observer newspapers due to move to new offices in nearby King’s Cross, he said it was only the lack of shopping that was holding the neighbourhood’s media business community back.
He was speaking at a party to celebrate the start of work at the iconic 1960s Patrick Hodkinson block, which owner Allied London hopes to transform into a shopping centre that will serve as a high street for Bloomsbury.
Mr Wood said: “There’s nothing within walking distance except hundreds of sandwich shops.
“People who work in the media business tend to be very picky about where they settle and, if this development is successful, it could make all the difference.
“At the moment if you want to buy a gift there is only the very expensive option of Hatton Garden or the market in Leather Lane.”
Retailers have struggled at the Brunswick Centre almost from the moment it was built.
Flats on the site were originally intended to house professionals, but legislation introduced by Harold Wilson’s Labour government made them unprofitable before the centre was even completed.
In 1972, Camden Council stepped in and converted the homes into social housing.
But upmarket shops, including Fortnum and Mason, pulled out in response.
High street chains such as Oasis, French Connection, Benetton, Strada, Nando’s, Starbucks, Waitrose, Carluccio’s and Argos are committed to moving to the new centre next year.