CAPITAL & Counties (Capco) was given the go-ahead by Westminster Council yesterday to build a leisure and residential scheme connecting two of Covent Garden’s busiest shopping areas.

The developer wants to transform the space between King Street and Floral Street within its £1.1bn Covent Garden estate, creating a new public courtyard overlooked by eight shops, two restaurants and 45 luxury flats.

The 90,000 square feet project will also create a new pedestrian passageway connecting Covent Garden’s main high street Long Acre with King Street, which leads onto the market.

Capco has also separately won consent to turn the Grade II-listed Carriage Hall building on the western end of Floral Street into a 13,000 sq ft retail space with a covered courtyard.

Capco has been sprucing up its Covent Garden estate, attracting trendy restaurants and retailers including Apple, Dior, and more recently the American burger chain Shake Shack.

It has also converted several offices into flats, joining other commercial property developers looking to cash in on strong demand for high-end housing in the capital and rising prices.

Chief executive Ian Hawksworth, said: “These plans will have a significant impact on how visitors experience Covent Garden and highlight Capco’s commitment….to improving public access within our estate.”