Improvements to Oxford Street may not happen for a number of years because of the way Sadiq Khan is attempting to seize control of the nation’s most famous high street, according to local campaigners.
A total of 22 residents’ groups and amenity societies in Westminster have written to the mayor asking him to think again about his intervention on Oxford Street.
On September 16, Mr Khan announced plans to restart previously abandoned proposals to part-pedestrianise the western end of Oxford Street.
He proposed to do this by establishing a “mayoral development corporation” that would give him planning powers over the area.
The letter, from the Westminster Amenity Societies Forum, said Mr Khan’s intervention had “delayed, possibly for years, any meaningful improvements to the public realm on Oxford Street”.
It comes only days after a separate row broke out over the state of Soho, with some businesses expressing “profound frustration” at the number of planning and licencing applications being turned down by the council, apparently under pressure from residents.
The plan for the part-pedestrianisation of Oxford Street first emerged in 2018. It was a joint scheme from Westminster council and the mayor – but the then Tory-led council subsequently abandoned support for the scheme due to opposition from residents and businesses.
When Labour won control of Westminster council in 2022, its new leadership – with promised funding from the New West End Company (NWEC) - began work on another scheme.
This involved a series of environmental improvements, such as wider pavements and new crossings, but did not ban buses and taxis from the road.
Preliminary work had started, with the bulk of the changes due next year and finished by 2026.
But when Mr Khan intervened in September, NWEC withdrew its financial commitment – forcing the council scheme to be scrapped.
“This has wasted several millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money and already constrained council resources and officer time,” the amenity societies wrote.
“It has also delayed, possibly for years, any meaningful improvements to the public realm on Oxford Street.”
The letter, from forum chair Tim Lord, added: “While your announcement, as yet, lacks any detail, it is entirely possible that the removal of buses and taxis from part of Oxford Street will, once again, be unsupported by the local community and businesses, and prove impractical.
“Local people and smaller businesses who would be most impacted by the change, and those who have the most knowledge of the area, remain of the view that removing all traffic from this main east west arterial route is not practical.
“It is, as yet, unclear whether what you will propose this time round would make pedestrianisation work.
“However, simply ignoring the people who live and work here will not address the well-rehearsed concerns.”
The letter raised concerns about the “unprecedented and unanticipated” use of a mayoral development corporation to oversee the proposed changes.
MDCs already exist for the Olympic Park and at Old Oak Common, and are normally used for regeneration of previously derelict areas rather than in places with homes and businesses are well-established.
The letter said: “We are not aware that a MDC has ever been used in a central city area, and certainly not the most intensively developed and valuable centre of a global city. This is not what MDC’s are for.
“While it is not yet clear what powers the MDC might seek, we wish to put on record that if the MDC seeks to take planning powers from [Westminster council], it will face opposition from many Westminster residents due to the loss of accountability that would result.
“If your plans rely solely on support from property investors, visitors and tourists, this will be a significant problem going forwards.
“In addition, the complex process to establish the MDC will further delay the investment that Oxford Street needs now - and which would have been delivered by [Westminster council] in 2025/2026, had you not intervened.
“We would therefore ask that you re-consider your approach to this, waste no more time on the MDC and instead work with Westminster council and local communities on plans which can deliver for Oxford Street more quickly and with a degree of consensus.”#
City Hall said plans to transform Oxford Street were “well underway”, with officers finalising the parameters of the mayoral development corporation zone.
It said stakeholders and the public would be “engaged in the new year” on the plans, and a consultation launched.
What’s the latest on the proposed part-pedestrianisation of Oxford Street? Here’s what mayor @SadiqKhan told me earlier this week pic.twitter.com/FTdNGOwREC
— Ross Lydall (@RossLydall) November 14, 2024
Speaking to The Standard on Monday, Mr Khan said he was “working closely with the Government” and was “having regular meetings” with Westminster council.
He said: “NWEC are very excited. We know the situation of setting up a development corporation can take some time.
“We are not waiting, though – we are having great conversations with the council but also businesses as well, and TfL are talking to residents and others to make sure we get the best possible scheme for that street.”
When the plans were first announced, City Hall said it may take 12 to 18 months to make progress – though there was a lack of detail.
“With a good wind, with support from the council, we could go quicker,” Mr Khan said.
Asked if there would changes on the ground within 12 to 18 months, he replied: “It depends what the response from the council is.
“We know that businesses want it. We want to work with the residents as well. Those residents need to be reassured that Oxford Street being pedestrianised won’t lead to challenges in relation to their quality of life.
“It’s really important that we consult and take them with us.”
A spokesperson for the mayor said: “Oxford Street was once the jewel in the crown of Britain’s retail sector, but - like other high streets across the country - has suffered in recent years due to a combination of the pandemic, online shopping and other factors.
"The mayor’s proposed plans, working with the new government and the local council, are the only way we’ll be able to transform Oxford Street, create new jobs and economic prosperity and restore this famous part of the capital to its former glory.”
