Sadiq Khan blasts council decision on pedestrianised Oxford Street as ‘betrayal’

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has labelled Westminster City Council’s decision to not pedestrianise Oxford Street a “betrayal of millions”.

The authority decided on Thursday (June 8) to scrap plans for the creation of a traffic-free area in central London.

While the council said its decision is “for good”, Mayor Khan indicated that he won’t walk away from proposals without a fight.

He commented: “This will be seen as a betrayal of the millions of Londoners and visitors to our city who would have benefited from making Oxford Street a safer, healthier and better environment.”

The project, he said, was “good example of two political parties putting politics aside” to work on improving the city.

Speaking further, he said Westminster City Council’s decision “poses a real threat” to Oxford Street’s future, adding: “[It] could not be worse timed, coming on the same day House of Fraser announced they will be closing their Oxford Street store.

“I won’t walk away from Oxford Street. It’s too important for our city.”

The plan was to set up traffic-free space in time for the full launch of Elizabeth Line services. Buses, black cabs and other forms of transport would have been affected. It was drawn up to address air quality concerns, frequent traffic collisions and severe overcrowding.

Transport for London believes the new Elizabeth Line will significantly increase visitor levels in the area.

In a letter to locals, council Leader Nickie Aiken said it became “very apparent” during consultations that a majority of Westminster residents do not support the plans.

Responding to Mayor Khan’s comments, Cllr Aiken said she “utterly rejects” suggestions that the decision represented a betrayal.

She continued: “Quite the contrary, we are sticking up for the people who know best, those who live and work in the district. It was clear through two public consultations and recent council elections that local people do not support the pedestrianisation proposals.”

A consultation earlier this year received wider backing, although one-third of respondents did not support the proposed pedestrianisation of Oxford Street.

Cllr Aiken’s statement further read: “Doing nothing to improve the area is not an option either if we are to maximise the potential benefits from the opening of the Elizabeth Line.

“The news that the House of Fraser will be closing their Oxford Street store only confirms our view that we all have to work harder to help the retail industry to grow and evolve, not simply stand still or just focus on traffic.”

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