Sadiq Khan

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THE Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was accused of having “no idea” about whether his Oxford Street pedestrianisation will work or not after a series of job adverts were unveiled this week.

The highly paid design team posts have appeared on the Greater London Authority website three months after the mayor stunned Westminster City Council and West End neighbourhoods groups with a resurrection of his long-held legacy project.

The proposals are believed to include taking Oxford Street out of the city council’s jurisdiction and setting up a “mayoral development corporation” to drive through the traffic ban and bus diversions.

One council source said: “The design team job adverts have only appear­ed now, nearly three months after the mayor announced his takeover of Oxford Street, proving beyond doubt that he had no idea of what he planned to do or if pedestrianisation is possible or a practical option.

The Extra ‘land grab’ report of September 20

“More delays are certain when the mayor starts consulting residents next year on his plans to create a mayoral development corporation (MDC) and take control of Oxford Street from the council. None of this was in the mayor’s manifesto when he stood for election just five months ago.”

Publicly the Labour-run council is not opposing the mayor’s plan. But privately councillors are said to be furious with the mayor, who announced the hugely divisive policy without informing them first.

The jobs include a “head of Oxford Street transformation programme” on a salary of £96,461, a “senior communications and stakeholder engagement manager” on £79,159, a “senior planning, design and delivery manager” on £79,159 and a “principal transport planning and policy officer” on £63,112.

Detail of one advertisement, with the stated salary for the job of £96,461

A YouGov survey about the pedestrianisation plan shows that 63 per cent of Londoners support pedestrianising Oxford Street, including 33 per cent who “strongly” support doing so. Only a quarter are opposed (23 per cent), with just 11 per cent strongly opposed.

The question asked about the prospect of making Oxford Street a pedestrian-only street in general, rather than the mayor’s specific proposals.

Many details remain unclear, though City Hall told the London Standard last week that a public consultation was due to open in early 2025.

In a recent London Assembly debate, Sadiq Khan responded to a question from Tory assembly member Andrew Boff: “I am considering pedestrianising Oxford Street by designating it a GLA road which means it will form part of the Transport for London road network. This would be subject to consent by the relevant London borough or the secretary of state. If it was designated as a GLA road, it will enable TfL to carry out the necessary works to pedestrianise Oxford Street.”