London Mayor Sadiq Khan slammed for ‘power grab’ over Oxford Street pedestrianisation plans

Londoners have said ‘it wouldn’t work’ while others claim it should be done.

Transcript

00:00The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has been accused of attempting to power grab in his latest push to pedestrianise Oxford Street,

00:10one of the capital's most iconic retail destinations, as a public consultation on the proposals near its close.

00:18The Mayor is seeking to use new planning powers to take control of the Oxford Street District away from Westminster City Council,

00:26a move that has sparked political backlash even from within his own party.

00:31Khan argues that urgent action is needed to revitalise the famous shopping street,

00:37which has seen declining footfall and the loss of major high street brands in recent years, including Debenhams and House of Fraser.

00:46His plan would transform the stretch from Marble Arch to Oxford Circus into a world-class, accessible, clean avenue, he claims,

00:55and could eventually extend east towards Tottenham Court Road.

00:59The project is expected to cost around £150 million if it goes ahead.

01:05However, the proposals have not landed well at all with politicians at City Hall.

01:09Andrew Boff, chair of the London's Assembly and Planning and Regeneration Committee,

01:15said that he is deeply concerned that this is a power grab from the London Mayor.

01:19But what do London locals think of pedestrianising Oxford Street?

01:22I'm sure it's not the only street in London or in another major city that has pedestrianised times.

01:32I think if you go to places like Barcelona, for example, there's a lot of pedestrianisation there.

01:38You've got shops there. How are they going to get their deliveries?

01:40The logistics would be a big problem, that's the way I see it. I can't see that being pedestrianised.

01:50Obviously, it's a big retail area, so they will need to get deliveries, so I'll have to probably schedule things.

01:58But I cycle a lot, and cycling down the middle of Oxford Street is awful.

02:04There's loads of pollution, there's lots of traffic, there's chances to get knocked off.

02:10I'd say it's probably a good idea to at least trial pedestrianising Oxford Street.

02:19It's a bit too difficult. I could see it being one-way street, which way I couldn't tell,

02:26but a one-way system would probably work better, and that would help with the shops and minimise traffic, that's fine, yeah.

02:38It is a, I mean, it draws a lot of tourists. It's a big commercial centre, and it's very busy.

02:45If you walk down the street sometimes, especially around Oxford Circus, at some parts of the day, it's just mayhem.

02:51So to be able to allow people to have a bit more space in those kind of congested areas is probably a good thing on balance.