Delayed plans to revitalise Oxford Street are to be reviewed to ensure they are “as ambitious as possible”, the new leader of Westminster council has revealed.
Rachael Robathan said she was also interested in working with Sadiq Khan, two years after the Tory council and Mayor fell out spectacularly when it blocked his vision of part-pedestrianising the street.
Ms Robathan, who became leader five months ago, said of the council’s plans for Oxford Street: “We need to look at this to make sure that we were being as ambitious as possible.
“There’s no point in doing something of this scale that we’re not going to be proud of in 20 years’ time. This is all about taking this area and future-proofing it, so my children are going to want to visit in years to come. It shouldn’t just be about retail. It also needs to be around how we can improve things, such as the food and beverage offers, so people will want to go there for lunch or just to walk around. I will be having a conversation with the Mayor about how we can work together on the Oxford Street district.”
Council sources indicated that Ms Robathan was keen to give the Mayor the opportunity to suggest his own ideas for the redesign of the area. In an interview with Estates Gazette, she said it had become “very clear” that shoppers were unwilling to return to Regent Street or Oxford Street until they could move around safely after the coronavirus lockdown.
The council has installed temporary barriers to widen pavements but has ditched plans to create pop-up cycle lanes on the streets.
Ms Robathan said the council may help to stage outdoor cultural events this summer to attract visitors back to the West End. Locations could include the north terrace of Trafalgar Square. The council and Mayor fell out in April 2018 when it withdrew from a joint plan to pedestrianise the western end of Oxford Street, after £8 million of public money had been spent on preparatory work.
Mr Khan said the row had “shattered any confidence I have in a positive working relationship with the council on Oxford Street”. The council published an alternative plan in October 2018, which proposed reducing the number of bus routes and mooted banning taxis and cars at peak times.
The plan was updated in February last year when a new “public piazza” at Oxford Circus was proposed and busy sections — in front of Selfridges, around Bond Street station and between Soho Street and Tottenham Court Road — were to be “considered for a high level of pedestrian priority”. The plans have yet to be implemented.