Sadiq Khan has secured government backing to implement plans for the transformation of Oxford Street, including turning the road into what City Hall describes as a “traffic-free pedestrianised avenue”.
In the first major shared initiative between the Labour Mayor and the newly-elected Labour national administration, Khan will be permitted to set up a new Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), the governance model already used for Old Oak and the Olympic Park, which will be the planning authority for the area and accountable to him.
The move, which will move decisions about Oxford Street out of the hands of Westminster Council, has been hailed by Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who said revitalising the street “will drive growth by creating new jobs, generating economic activity and giving a much-needed boost to London’s night-time economy”.
Khan expressed excitement about “working with the new government and local retailers and businesses” with the goal of restoring “this part of the capital to its former glory”.
Business groups too have welcomed the news, with John Dickie, chief executive of BusinessLDN, stressing the “important role” of the Mayor in helping to improve “London’s flagship high street”. And Dee Corsi, chief executive of the New West End Company business improvement district, though noting that “the devil will be in the detail”, said the initiative “represents a major leap” towards enhancing the West End as a whole.
However, in a statement Westminster chief executive Stuart Love said the Mayor’s proposal was “only shared with us last Thursday” and pointed out that the council “has spent the last two years working closely with businesses and residents’ groups to redesign and improve Oxford Street” with preparatory work for the delivery of “shovel-ready” plans for a £90 million public realm scheme already underway, half if it to be paid for by local landowners.
While welcoming “the promise of additional funding” and pledging to “work constructively with the Mayor and the Government to ensure the best outcomes,” Love added: “It will be important to receive further details about what is planned, including how long it could take to be delivered and how the concerns of local residents and users of the street will be addressed. As a custodian of the West End, our role will be to ensure that local voices are heard loud and clear.”
Oxford Street has suffered a decline in recent years, with poor air quality, competition from new shopping malls in other parts of the capital, changing shopping habits accelerated by the pandemic and an influx of poor quality retailers, notably so-called “candy shops”, all contributing to its problems.
Westminster has conducted a high-profile drive to reduce the number of candy shops and encouraged a new and more varied influx of businesses to the area. A branch of IKEA is scheduled to open in the former home of Topshop next spring and the HMV shop returned to its old address on the street last November. A number of fashion brands, small online operators and others have been allocated pop-up space in a “meanwhile” drive to revive boarded-up units
Khan has harboured hopes of pedestrianising Oxford Street since before he was first elected Mayor of London in 2016, but they were dashed shortly before the May 2018 borough elections when the then Conservative-run Westminster withdrew from previously productive discussions with City Hall and Transport for London amid strong opposition from some local residents.
In theory, TfL could have been made the highway authority for the road, which officially forms part of the A40 trunk route linking London and Fishguard, but a City Hall source told On London at the time that there seemed little point in seeking re-designation due to the unfriendly attitude of the Department for Transport under the Tory government.
It had also been envisaged that pedestrianisation of Oxford Street would happen at much the same time as the opening of the Elizabeth line service, with its new stations at Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street, though that ended up being delayed until May 2022.
The government’s stance on Oxford Street follows Chancellor Rachel Reeves recently assuring Stratford & Bow MP Uma Kumaran in the House of Commons that “the success of London’s economy will be integral” to the government’s pursuit of its growth mission, and that ministers would work with Khan and London MPs to that end.
Plans and pledges to remove traffic from the road, sometimes known as “the nation’s high street”, have been around for many years. Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes promised to do it when he ran for Mayor of London in 2004, but failed to get elected. Ken Livingstone, who was Mayor from 2000 until 2008, looked at replacing traffic with a slow-moving tram, complete with a terminus at Marble Arch, but the plan did not proceed.
In 2021, Westminster, still Conservative-run, shelved plans to create two pedestrian piazzas either side of Oxford Circus, which would have restricted traffic access. These were axed the following year after Labour won control of the council for the first time in its history, promising not to pedestrianise at all.
Geoff Barraclough, cabinet member for planning and economic development, later told The London Society Podcast – listen from 15:45 – that “nobody knows where the buses would go”, and that without buses travelling along the mile-long street would be more difficult, as would getting to Oxford Street in the first place, especially for disabled people. He added that after retailers closed in the evenings “it would be a nightmare to manage the space”.
The council’s approach has been to pursue a range of measures to reduce congestion, widen footways, plant more trees and improve lighting, signage and seating. However, Khan told the London Assembly shortly after his re-election in May that he still hoped pedestrianisation would happen.
Under the Localism Act (2011) the Mayor will first designate a mayoral development area, subject to statutory consultation, including with local authorities affected, and consideration by the London Assembly. The MDC will then be legally established by the Secretary of State except in the now unlikely event of either of the Houses of Parliament agreeing to reject it.
City Hall has not said where the boundaries of the MDC will be, but stated that “at least one elected representative of each local authority that falls within the boundaries of the new Area will sit on the board of the proposed Mayoral Development Corporation.”
This appears to imply that Camden Council too will have to cede planning powers over some of its jurisdiction to the Mayor. Camden’s territory includes Tottenham Court Road, New Oxford Street – an eastern extension of Oxford Street linking it to Holborn – and the area immediately east of Charing Cross Road.
OnLondon.co.uk provides unique coverage of the capital’s politics, development and culture. Support it for just £5 a month or £50 a year and get things for your money too. Details HERE. Follow Dave Hill on Bluesky. Image shows impression of earlier pedestrianisation plans from 2017, provided by City Hall.