Plans to pedestrianise London’s Oxford Street have been given the official go-ahead, with the mayor, Sadiq Khan, promising to create a “world-leading urban space”.
The remaining traffic – buses and taxis but also bikes, e-scooters and pedicabs – should be removed this summer, after a second public consultation on reshaping a central stretch of the capital’s famous shopping street.
Work will start in the coming months until late 2027 to transform the street west of Oxford Circus after the decision on Thursday.
Khan is expected to set out more details of his plans for the area next week but the mayor has championed pedestrianisation as a way to boost businesses and revive London’s hospitality and the nightlife sector.
He said: “I am delighted to be moving forward with my bold vision to transform Oxford Street into a world-leading urban space for shopping, leisure and outdoor events.”
An initial consultation last year showed widespread public support for the plan among 6,600 respondents.
While Oxford Street has already been largely closed to general traffic, full pedestrianisation is an ambition that has been dragged out for decades, partly because of disputes between City Hall and Westminster council.
Alex Williams, the chief customer and strategy officer at Transport for London (TfL), said: “We will work closely with Westminster council in the coming months to implement changes to the roads around Oxford Street, and the mayor will provide more information on the next steps for this transformational scheme next week.”
More than 2,700 people responded to the second consultation, on the detailed layout of the scheme and how traffic will be diverted. TfL will press ahead with the proposals, which still allows limited traffic to cross from most sidestreets but pedestrianises the core shopping area.
Buses will mainly be diverted to Wigmore Street, a road running parallel to the north.
Big retailers along the street, including department stores Selfridges and John Lewis, have backed pedestrianisation, hoping it will help restore the sheen of an area that had in recent years been dotted with stores of dubious repute.
Taxi drivers, however, have criticised the move, warning that the closure is likely to further slow journeys through the congested heart of London.
TfL acknowledged in the consultation that some bus journeys would now take longer, while hundreds of vehicles will have to be diverted on to routes in surrounding streets in peak hours. It said that concerns about access for people of reduced mobility would be mitigated by easier movement for wheelchairs and buggies on the pedestrianised street.
