Oxford Street: Our Response

We submitted our response this month to the consultation on the Mayor of London’s proposal to create a new Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) to support the transformation of Oxford Street.

While details of the regeneration of the street are yet to be released, the Mayor’s proposals, should an MDC be established, could include pedestrianisation with the aim of transforming it into a green and thriving destination for shopping, leisure, and outdoor events.

Baker Street Quarter Partnership is supportive of future improvements to Oxford Street, to ensure it becomes a positive neighbour to Marylebone. There are no detailed plans available for comment with pedestrianisation being one possibility. Our concerns remain as follows, subject to further details of the plans being confirmed:

• Side streets – we are concerned that the side streets abutting Oxford Street – which form key links and gateways between Marylebone and Oxford Street – will deteriorate and not fulfil their potential to encourage footfall between the districts. Pedestrianisation could leave these streets dominated by bus stands, loading, taxi ranks, ebike parking, private hire and delivery vehicles.
• Management – pedestrianisation will require a well-funded management regime to ensure the street is safe, clean and well maintained. We would like reassurance that sufficient budget will be available on an ongoing basis to secure the required resources to achieve this.
• Traffic displacement – the potential displacement of vehicular traffic onto the streets surrounding Oxford Street is a concern that could also detract from the success of improvement on Oxford Street. We would like to understand the impact in relation to local traffic flows and air quality.

You can read our full response here. Baker Street Quarter will continue to engage with the MDC team through a number of forums. Watch this space for further updates.