Mayor of London to move ahead with Oxford Street traffic ban
Plans to pedestrianise parts of Oxford Street will move forward "as quickly as possible", the mayor of London has said.City Hall claims two thirds of people support the principle of banning traffic on one of the world's busiest streets, with Sir Sadiq Khan adding that "urgent action is needed to give our nation's high street a new lease of life".Vehicles would be banned from a 0.7-mile (1.1km) stretch between Oxford Circus and Marble Arch, with further potential changes towards Tottenham Court Road.Adam Hug, Westminster City Council's Labour leader, said the plan "was not the council's preferred outcome" but "it is now important for Oxford Street's future to move forward together".
Detailed proposals for traffic on Oxford Street, which sees an average of half a million visitors each day, will be consulted on later this year.
'Elephant in the room'
Tim Lord, chair of the Soho Society, said key questions remained unanswered, including about "traffic diversion and the impact of moving 16 bus routes into narrow, congested one-way streets in Marylebone and Fitzrovia".He said: "No convincing plan has ever been presented; London is already a very slow city and will get worse."The elephant in the room is that Oxford Street's problems are to do with the quality and attractiveness of the retail offering, which is diminished by rents which are too high and which only ever increase."He added that there were questions about bicycles and "equality of access for bus and taxi users" and "people with kids and heavy shopping or with mobility restrictions".
A previous consultation showed support for the scheme from local business owners (19%) and residents (34%) lagged behind visitors (62%).In 2018, Westminster City Council - then led by the Conservatives - blocked the mayor's plans to pedestrianise the street, citing a lack of support from residents.In 2022, the same council was widely mocked for a doomed attempt to entice visitors back to the area with the Marble Arch Mound, which opened incomplete, over budget and led to resignations.
The mayor's latest proposals depend on him obtaining permission from Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner in her role as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to establish a new Mayoral Development Corporation, which would provide planning powers.Sir Sadiq said: "We want to rejuvenate Oxford Street; establish it as a global leader for shopping, leisure and outdoor events with a world-class, accessible, pedestrianised avenue."This will help to attract more international visitors and act as a magnet for new investment and job creation, driving growth and economic prosperity for decades to come."
'Roared back to life'
Mr Hug said: "Since the mayor's new approach was made public last autumn, Westminster has worked pragmatically and productively with the Greater London Authority to ensure that the plan for Oxford Street more closely meets the needs of businesses, visitors and residents."Since 2022, Oxford Street has roared back to life after the pandemic. Such is the level of retail confidence that existing brands have spent £118m refitting their stores in the last 12 months alone, according to Savills."City Hall Conservative Alessandro Georgiou AM said: "We are concerned that the mayor is driving coach and horses through the plan drawn up by Westminster Conservatives, which had the popular support of residents and businesses, in order to secure himself even a shred of a positive legacy after last week's disastrous Spending Review. "The mayor's polling claims to show how strongly Londoners feel about this issue, but he has yet to make a cogent case for why he needs to take power away from local councils in order to achieve this rather than working with them."We will continue to hold the mayor to account on his empty proposals, and encourage him to be clearer with the public about the impacts on congestion, public safety and disabled access, as well as how much his plans will cost."
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