Swanky new flats is obviously a realistic and probably very successful alternative.
My contention was that most tourists visiting RAFM were likely to travel by underground. If the area between Colindale station and the RAFM had upmarket shops and cafes /restaurants then there was always the chance that these visitors would spend some time and money in the area around the museum instead of getting through it as quickly as possible. Most of us know that a while spent in a shop where the wife sees something she wants can ultimately mean getting away with spending more time at the museum we really came to the area to visit.
The better quality shops would lead to rises in the value of commercial property meaning a rise in business rates leading to more local government income for further regeneration.
I admit this is a slower process than building swanky flats but to be honest I haven’t visited Hendon for a long time so I hadn’t realised that any regeneration was taking place.
As admission is free at Hendon you would logically think that visitors would spend a bit more in the shop but in my experience this is not the case.
When I ran a shop at Brands Hatch circuit there was one meeting each year where spectators got free admisiion by showing acopy of the Daily Mail (who sponsored the race meeting) at the gate. generally speaking this proved to be one of the worst days of the year in terms of shop takings and even the food stalls reckoned their takings were down as many of the spectators brought their own food with them. It seemed to be a case of free admission meant that the public had little or no expectation of sppending any money at all if they could avoid it.