LONDON, Sept 17 (Askume) – London’s Oxford Street could be transformed into a pedestrian mall to attract more shoppers, from Selfridges to Marks & Spencer, under a plan announced by Mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday.
If approved, Oxford Street will join other major shopping centres such as New York’s Times Square and Barcelona’s Ramblas in being completely traffic-free.
A previous version of the plan to ban vehicles on the 1.2-mile (1.9-kilometre) road was blocked by the local Westminster City Council, but the revived project has the support of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
Rayner said: “This plan to regenerate Oxford Street will drive economic growth by creating new jobs, generating economic activity and giving a much-needed boost to London’s night-time economy.”
Oxford Street attracts around 500,000 visitors a day, according to the mayor’s office, but several major stores, including House of Fraser and Topshop, have closed in recent years.
Like many brick-and-mortar stores, the sector has struggled to restore foot traffic as many people turned to online shopping and fewer people returned to the office due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New West End, which represents Oxford Street retailers, said the area remains a key area for London’s retail and hospitality sectors.
Some retailers welcomed the move, with John Lewis, whose flagship store has been on Oxford Street since 1864, calling the nearly three-century-old motorway a “national high street”.
The London mayor’s office has not yet specified how buses using the east-west route will be rerouted.
Stuart Love, chief executive of Westminster City Council, said the authority wanted more detail about how to address the concerns of local residents and shoppers about traffic and access changes.
The scheme is still subject to final approval by UK Housing and Communities Secretary Rayner.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has said it wants to speed up the process of approving new projects to boost British economic growth.
