Soho Heritage Study

Interactive digital map of visual heritage features

Soho’s visual landscape is one of the most distinctive in all of London, in part because of the texture provided by built heritage features like signs, mosaics, railings, and remnants of life from centuries ago. The Neighbourhood Forum sponsored an audit of the heritage assets of Soho. The digital map records street furniture, architecture, street signage, ghost signs and more.

Check out the map here.

Want to dive deeper into the database behind the map? You can find the full, filterable database here.

To read a full report of the project, along with a data dictionary, please check back later in 2025.

If you have any questions or updates to request, of if you’d like to add images or memories of heritage assets, email us at SohoHeritageAudit@publica.co.uk or DM Plan for Soho via X, Facebook or Instagram.

The Soho Heritage Audit was coordinated by the Soho Neigbhourhood Forum, with financial support from the neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy. The work was completed in Autumn 2024 by the urban design and research firm Publica and Bahar Durmaz Drinkwater, a Soho resident with a PhD in architecture and the built environment. The team at Publica included Tess McCann, an urban designer with a specialism in spatial database management, and Greer Lockyear, a graphic designer with a specialism in visual and cultural history.

Historic street surfaces, bollards, railings, lighting, statues, architectural iron work, signage of merit, the noses, murals, loos, parish boundary markers , street signs, reliefs, drinking troughs, phone boxes, clocks, blue and other plaques, memorial benches, especially dated hoppers and pipes, manhole covers

If you have any images of heritage assets you think should be included- email images with a short description to SohoHeritageAudit@publica.co.uk or DM Plan for Soho via X, Facebook and Instagram. You can also submit directly to the study by completing this online form.

“Caught short in Soho?”There’s nowhere to go!

19 November 2024 - Read our full report here.

Soho Neighbourhood Forum

Bringing together those who live, work or study in Soho

What does the Soho Neighbourhood Forum do?

The Forum Steering Group (FSG) which leads the forum, is made up of 8 business representatives and 8 residents.

Following the voting in of the Neighbourhood Plan at referendum in September 2021, the FSG’s responsibility is to monitor the effectiveness of the policies within the plan and where necessary put forward revised or new policies to address planning issues that affect the neighbourhood area. The other main responsibility is to consider and support applications for CIL projects.

The FSG meets quarterly to consider CIL applications, based on eight priorities identified in the plan through community consultation.

The eight priorities, for Soho CIL infrastructure projects, are shown below:-

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Priorities

Through community consultation, we have identified eight core themes for Soho

To preserve, enhance, and promote the heritage and culture of Soho to keep is underlying spirit

2. To support and enhance the range and diversity of businesses in Soho particularly the creative industries and other business clusters by ensuring that there continues to be a continuing supply of flexibly sized accommodation.

3. To support investment which respects the nature of the Soho Conservation Area, generally retaining its character and human scale.

4. To support the continued local provision of live music venues, which minimises any adverse impacts on residents and other users, and ensures good management in all forms of entertainment, leisure and cultural activity.

5. To recognize the demand for, and to support, growth in the residential community by seeking to ensure that the affordable and other housing required by WCC, is located within Soho wherever possible with an appropriately sized mix of units and to enhance the attractiveness of the neighbourhood area for residents by reducing nuisance, noise, crime and anti-social behaviour.

6. To promote sustainable development, improve air quality, increase green infrastructure and improve the public realm.

7. To support a modal shift towards walking and cycling, promote car free living, freight consolidation and non fossil fuel delivery methods, to help reduce traffic and congestion.

8. To reduce the amounts of waste left on the street by encouraging better facilities for recycling and waste management within premises and supporting the increased provision of dedicated food waste recycling.