Tory-led Westminster fights back against plan to ban cars from Oxford Street
Key Points
- Westminster City Council, now led by the Conservatives, has called for the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street to be scrapped.
- The Council says the Mayor is conducting a 'stitch-up', forcing through the changes against the interests of residents.
- This is despite TfL and the Mayor conducting numerous consultations and surveys on the proposal to ban cars from Oxford Street, and the corporation already being set up to deliver the transformation.
- Two-thirds of Londoners support the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street, and a trail run last year was met with widespread approval.
The Conservative-led Westminster City Council has condemned plans by Sadiq Khan and TfL to pedestrianise the world-famous Oxford Street.
Just over a month ago, Sadiq Khan’s plan to pedestrianise Oxford Street was on track and facing no opposition, forming part of the Mayor’s larger efforts to revitalise the area and increase footfall.
The Mayor pledged to begin by banning car traffic from a stretch of Oxford Street this summer, with no vehicles allowed between Great Portland Street and Orchard Street.
However, the mood in Westminster City Council changed after the local elections on 7 May. Labour’s grip on the council slipped, and the Conservatives were elected to lead Westminster.
Since his election to council leader, Conservative Councillor Paul Swaddle has been increasingly outspoken against the Mayor’s pedestrianisation plans and has called for the process to be scrapped and consultations restarted.
“This is a stitch-up, plain and simple,” Swaddle said.
“The Mayor and TfL tried to force through permanent changes to the most famous shopping street in the world, the day after an election, in a consultation so quiet that the people whose livelihoods depend on Oxford Street never even knew it was happening.”
“That is not how you treat the nation’s high street, and it is not how you treat Londoners,” he said.
Swaddle also accused Khan of hanging the West End to an “unelected quango” which is beyond the control of the council.
He is referring to the Oxford Street Development Corporation set up to deliver this pedestrianisation project. The organisation was set up by the mayor to deliver the project, and it purportedly has the necessary powers to implement his transformation plan.
Popular support for Oxford Street pedestrianisation
Under current plans, a stretch of Oxford Street will be pedestrianised this summer, with buses re-routed and the whole width of the road made available to foot traffic.
In general, Londoners are supportive of banning vehicles from Oxford Street and giving more space to pedestrians. The Mayor and TfL have conducted numerous consultations and studies on this issue, and most recently they found that 66% of Londoners are in favour of car traffic being removed from the street.
When vehicle traffic was temporarily barred from the street in September last year, 75% of people surveyed said their experience visiting Oxford Street was improved as a result, and more than half specifically enjoyed the additional walking space provided by the pedestrianised street.
In addition to continuing to support pedestrianisation, Sadiq Khan has also recently spoken out against groups which seek to curb nightlife and growth in the capital, taking aim at The Soho Society’s recent decision to vote against any new or renewing bar or nightclub licences in the area.
“The Soho Society’s decision to oppose all new and extended licence applications is the wrong one – it’s bad for London,” Khan said.
“Once in force, new licensing powers I’ve been granted by Government, coupled with our bold new proposals to support London’s hospitality and nightlife, will help us protect venues, extend London’s late-night offer and allow the capital’s nightlife to flourish.”
No doubt the new licensing powers available to Khan will allow him to exercise more power against protesting councils and lobby groups in transforming the city, but this may also lead to louder calls against his leadership from Conservative-led councils like Westminster.
