Yesterday’s announcement by the Mayor of London regarding his plans for Oxford Street marks a step forward in bringing clarity on what has been a long-running issue for London, particularly since the announcement last autumn on the GLA taking the control of the street. We all share a commitment in making sure the nation’s high street has a bright future, one that brings benefits locally, regionally, and nationally.

Since the announcement was made last year to create a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) to pedestrianise Oxford Street, we have been working hard to ensure that the voices of residents and businesses are heard. The Mayor’s team have taken on board our feedback and agreed a number of improvements in response to our concerns:

• Recognising the current challenges of pedestrianising the eastern half of Oxford Street, from Oxford Circus to Tottenham Court Road. The Mayor and Westminster have agreed that the GLA should develop plans to bring forward improvements to the area at the eastern end of Oxford Street.
• The Mayor has committed upfront investment to help fast-track delivery of a high-quality scheme to radically improve the eastern section. This is expected to be aligned to the plans the council had already drawn up as part of its Oxford Street Programme.
• The proposed area boundary for the Mayoral Development Corporation is now reduced to one block either side of Oxford Street, subject to consultation. The council remains responsible for all services outside of the boundary area.
• Improved security and safety measures to be managed by the GLA together with WCC and the police, including hostile vehicle mitigation in the area.
• The Mayor has committed, under any future plans to pedestrianise, to consult on the basis that some north/south access will be retained for taxi access. The GLA will also prioritise the introduction of electric buses for displaced routes.
• The Mayor has recognised concerns we raised on behalf of residents and confirmed that he would expect the MDC to undertake freight consolidation.
• The Mayor has, in principle, agreed a mechanism that will enable Westminster City Council to retain development funds collected in the area, relating to strategic infrastructure, carbon offset, employment and skills and affordable housing.

The council will now work to ensure these commitments, and future ones, are all recognised in legally binding agreements. The consultation assumes a minimum of three seats for Westminster City Council nominations on the MDC board, ensuring local voices will be heard clearly throughout the lifespan of the programme.

The Mayor has been clear that any future proposals to pedestrianise Oxford Street will be consulted on rigorously with all stakeholders, including residents.

Cllr Adam Hug, Leader of Westminster Council, said: “Subject to the outcome of the Mayor’s consultation, our role is to ensure that the Mayor’s proposed Oxford Street Transformation delivers for local communities, as well as for London.

“We have already fought hard to secure numerous improvements from the Mayor of London to ensure that any plans for Oxford Street are deliverable and meet the needs of local residents, businesses, and wider London. We seek to work pragmatically with the Mayor’s team to ensure a bright future for the nation’s high street as well as for our residential communities and businesses.”

Background

The Mayor has the power to establish a Mayoral Development Corporation and designate any area of Greater London a Mayoral Development area. This is subject to consultation with stakeholders such as the local authorities whose areas the MDC will operate in, MPs whose constituency is similarly covered. The Mayor must consider the consultation findings and where he does not agree or accept the comments of a statutory consultee such as a London Borough, he is only required to publish a statement of reasons for his non-acceptance. The Mayor is then required to lay his proposals for designation of the area before the London Assembly. The Mayor may proceed to designate the MDA if, after a 21 day, the Assembly has not rejected his proposals. Assembly requires a two thirds majority of Members to reject a proposal. The Mayor must then inform the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government who will make an order to establish the MDC. The creation of an MDC relates to the transfer of planning responsibilities in the within area to the proposed new body. Licensing powers (and many other local government responsibilities for the area) remain with Westminster Council.

Westminster Council has spent £22m since 2022 on the council’s revised Oxford Street project which would have delivered public realm improvements to the whole street starting on site in Spring 2025 (at a proposed total cost of £90m, split equally between the Council and local businesses). The largest single item was changes to the traffic flows on Wigmore and Mortimer Streets and Cavendish Square. These were completed this week and will benefit the West End, no matter what final arrangements are made for Oxford Street itself. The balance refers mainly to design work, much of which will be picked up by the Mayor’s team, particularly now that the Council’s proposals will now form the basis for his transformation of the Eastern End of Oxford Street. For this section, the Mayor has confirmed a new upfront investment that should unlock the transformation of this section of the street (in alignment with Westminster’s previous proposals) commensurate to the needs of the project, in recognition of the investment made in the project by Westminster so far. Under the previous Conservative administration the Council spent £34m (and in our view mostly wasted) from 2019-2022 to deliver the Marble Arch Mound (£6m), the Photography Quarter (£1m), temporary works on Oxford Street and plans for Piazzas at Oxford Circus, whilst paying every consultants to do nothing.