What the plans for Oxford Street really mean

What the plans for Oxford Street really mean

1. Traffic displacement into residential streets  

With Oxford Street closed, displaced vehicles reappear on:

• Mayfair: Park Street, Green Street, North Audley Street, North Row  

• Marylebone: Wigmore Street, Henrietta Place, Cavendish Square, Welbeck Street, Great Portland Street  

• Soho: Poland Street, Great Marlborough Street, Noel Street  

• Fitzrovia: Great Titchfield Street, Mortimer Street, Newman Street

The result is more congestion, noise, pollution and private hire vehicle (PHV) looping, as drivers search for exits made more complex by new one-way patterns and traffic reversals.

2. New bus stands and bus routes near homes  

Routes curtailed at Oxford Street create new bus stands and waiting areas beside residential blocks in:

• Mayfair: North Row  

• Marylebone: Wigmore Street edges  

• Soho and Fitzrovia: Oxford Circus approaches

This brings noise, queues, engine idling and taxi clustering into previously quiet corners.

3. Servicing displacement and HGV pressure  

Because Oxford Street can only be serviced between midnight and 7am, daytime deliveries shift onto dozens of side streets across the West End — many of them narrow, historic or unsuitable for heavy vehicles. These streets were never designed for HGV volumes.

4. A dramatic expansion of the night-time economy  

The GLA’s After Dark proposals identify the Oxford Street zone as a priority area for intensified night-time activity. Extending licensing hours and encouraging late-opening venues risks turning residential streets into late-night spill-out and dispersal zones for a 24-hour entertainment district.

5. A loss of local democratic control  

The proposed Oxford Street Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) would:

• remove planning powers from Westminster councillors  

• override local policies on licensing, transport, public realm and amenity  

• direct public funding through an unelected board charged with “growth”, not resident wellbeing

And once created, the MDC could expand — placing more of the West End beyond accountable local decision-making.

6. Why this matters to everyone in the area

Even if your street is not directly adjacent to Oxford Street, the effects ripple outward:

• Traffic displaced from one area enters another — often into streets never meant to carry it.  

• Servicing restrictions in one place create pressure elsewhere.  

• If one neighbourhood loses democratic control, others can follow.  

• If Oxford Street becomes a 24-hour zone, Soho, Fitzrovia and Marylebone absorb the overflow.

West End communities share a common interest in resisting a single plan that affects them all.

For more information please see:  www.betteroxfordstreet.com and the contact form