Just north of London’s Chinatown stands a rare occurrence on Britain’s high streets: a new music venue.

Outernet, led by developer Consolidated Developments, is part of a nearly decade-long vision to redesign a storied area for Britain’s music industry. It stands on Denmark Street, dubbed Britain’s Tin Pan Alley after the famous street in New York.

Just south of Tottenham Court Road station, the area was home to music publishers, rehearsal rooms and instrument shops and a familiar haunt of musicians including David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, the Kinks and the Sex Pistols in the 1960s and 1970s. Its cultural cachet has declined, however, as music venues turned into retail shops and major tech firms such as Google moved in.

Outernet London aims to “put this historic area of London back on the cultural map”, its website states, through a 2,000 capacity music venue, retail space, art exhibitions and brand launches across multiple buildings – topped off with a “unique multi-sensory experience” for more than 100m visitors per year. 

Critics, however, point to the garish design of the largest building in the £1bn development. Built on top of the Crossrail tunnel, it is seen by some as a symbol of gentrification efforts that seem set for failure – in rejuvenating both the area and London’s battered live music industry. 

Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI, the trade body for the recorded music industry, has a more favourable view than some in the sector.

“Outernet London will add an innovative new dimension to London’s vibrant music and entertainment scene, with state of the art live music and promotional spaces, and a pro-bono recording studio for young musicians,” he says. “This is a positive development for music, and one that builds on the rich heritage of Denmark Street.”

It is a heritage that has shifted since Consolidated Developments started drawing up plans around 2012, with construction beginning in 2017.

The area is now home to the likes of online Facebook, which moved its headquarters to Rathbone Square in 2015, and Google, which paid £730m for offices in the area earlier this year.  

Contributing to the transformation of the area over time has been Crossrail, which has tunnelled through Denmark Street and upended some old venues.

Close by, for example, is the site of the Astoria – a storied music venue that hosted the likes of Radiohead, Metallica and Muse before shutting down in 2009 as part of the development plans of the Crossrail project.