Works to ban traffic from Oxford Street could begin before council elections
Tories believe legacy project being railroaded through
Friday, 17th October — By Tom Foot
How the pedestrianisation could look
LONDON mayor Sir Sadiq Khan is said to be urgently accelerating the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street to happen before crunch council elections next May.
The £150million scheme – which has been taken out of the control of Westminster City Council by the mayor – is now expected to begin shortly after detailed proposals are unveiled in the spring of 2026.
A snap consultation is being launched next month and an MDC “mayoral development corporation” is being set up to run the project – between Oxford Circus and Marble Arch – on January 1.
The initial target for completion was May 2028, the end of his third term as Mayor.
But, barring challenges, insiders now say the Sir Sadiq is looking to stop the traffic as early as next summer.
Banning all vehicles from Oxford Street has been strongly opposed by a string of neighbourhood groups in Marylebone, Mayfair, Fitzrovia and Soho for many years due to knock-on impact on residential streets.
Last night the city council’s cabinet was considering a petition of more than 500 signatures about the divisive scheme that was expected to have a serious impact on polling at the May council elections, with the current Labour administration’s majority on a knife edge.
Conservative group leader Paul Swaddle said: “Clearly the mayor is worried that if we win we would actually fight for what residents want rather than roll over.
“And he must be worried that Labour are doing such a bad job that it may well happen.”
The city council has been criticised for failing to challenge the Labour mayor after he seized control of the pedestrianisation plan last year.
It came as a shock to the Labour-controlled council which had been working on its own scheme – one that had pacified resident
groups – for two years. The Tories have vowed to seek a judicial review of the project if they win power. The Marylebone Association has also warned that Sir Sadiq may be trying to pre-empt any High Court action.
A report to council cabinet said: “The council has already sought and achieved a number of commitments from the Greater London Authority (GLA) as part of the transformation of Oxford Street that will address concerns of residents.
“The cabinet member for streets recently approved the re-designation of Oxford Street as a GLA road together with short stretches of listed side roads.
“The council had limited powers to resist the designation change and objecting would have delayed rather than prevented the re-designation.
“If the council had opposed the requested redesignation, it would have significantly risked undermining its ability to influence what happens to Oxford Street and how once the MDC was created.
“The council will continue to work pragmatical- ly and constructively with the GLA to ensure the future success of Oxford Street and represent the interests of residents and businesses.”
Last month Oxford Street banned access to cars and held events to show how the pedestrianisation scheme could work.
The mayor last week described the day trial as extremely successful, praising a vague set of statistics appearing to show marginal boost in trade for shops.
A spokesperson for Sir Sadiq said: “The mayor is moving forward with the next stage of bold and imaginative proposals for Oxford Street, which he believes will deliver a world-leading urban space for shopping, leisure and outdoor events and a cleaner, truly accessible, world-class public space.”
