Security guards in Westminster

Which parts of Westminster do we cover?

All of it, from Queen’s Park and Maida Vale in the north to Pimlico on the river.

The London Plan names only two International town centres, and both are partly in Westminster: the West End, shared with Camden, and Knightsbridge, shared with Kensington and Chelsea. Around them sit smaller shopping clusters at Covent Garden and the Strand, Victoria Street, Marylebone High Street, Baker Street and the southern end of Edgware Road. Further out are the district centres of Praed Street, Edgware Road and Church Street, Harrow Road and St John’s Wood, and the larger centre at Queensway and Westbourne Grove.

Three of the city’s Opportunity Areas are planned around jobs far more than homes: Paddington, with room for 13,000 new jobs, Tottenham Court Road, with 6,000, and Victoria, with 4,000. Network Rail runs the main line stations at Paddington, Victoria and Charing Cross (Network Rail).

Most households live in flats: at the 2021 Census, 70% were in purpose-built blocks and another 16% in converted or shared houses (ONS). The council’s guide to its conservation areas, which cover more than three-quarters of the city, notes mansion blocks around Elgin Avenue in Maida Vale, in the south-east of St John’s Wood, above the shops of Marylebone High Street and at the north end of Queensway.

Two big council-led regeneration schemes are under way. Church Street has a masterplan for 1,750 homes, and at Ebury Bridge a 1930s estate is being replaced with 781 homes, so both will have building sites for years.

What needs guarding in Westminster?

Shops on the big streets. Oxford Street has been traffic-free between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street since 26 October 2026, and deliveries into that stretch are allowed only between midnight and 7am (Mayor of London). A shop that takes stock through its Oxford Street front may now need someone on the door overnight as well as on the shop floor by day. Our retail security officers can cover both.

Offices. In Paddington, Victoria and around Tottenham Court Road, an officer at reception can sign visitors in and control who gets past the front desk, then lock up and patrol once the building empties: see office and corporate security.

Mansion blocks and managed buildings. A concierge officer runs the front desk, takes in parcels and signs contractors in and out. Ours are SIA-licensed, so they look after the building’s security as well.

Regeneration sites. Schemes on the scale of Church Street and Ebury Bridge need their gates run during the working day and the site guarded at night and over weekends: see construction site security.

Functions and events. For a launch, party or private dinner of your own, in the West End or anywhere else in the city, our event security officers can check guests in, keep an eye on the rooms and manage queues to your event plan.

What changes the plan in Westminster?

• A new licensing policy started on 1 October 2026. It has one Cumulative Impact Zone, a smaller West End zone that still holds about a quarter of the city’s licensed premises, and names special consideration zones in eight more areas, from Edgware Road and Paddington to Mayfair and Victoria (Westminster City Council). A venue’s licence conditions can require a set number of door supervisors at certain times, and door supervision needs its own SIA licence.
• A BID may run its own patrols. There are 20 BIDs in Westminster (Westminster City Council). New West End Company, which covers more than 100 streets including Oxford, Regent and Bond Streets, runs high-visibility security patrols around the clock and a radio system that only its members can use (New West End Company). Find out what yours provides before you decide what your own officers should do.
• Big events in the Royal Parks. Hyde Park hosts Winter Wonderland from November to January and BST Hyde Park concerts over several summer weekends, and the Regent’s Park has Frieze London each October and Taste of London each June (Royal Parks). BST alone brings thousands of people over those weekends, so check the dates before you schedule deliveries or shift changes at premises close by.
• Oxford Street will keep changing. Today’s layout is a temporary first stage. More than 50 new trees and two new public squares are due by the end of spring 2027 (Mayor of London), so expect works along the street, and access to your premises to change while they happen.