“World class” public toilets should be built on Oxford Street as part of the proposed pedestrianisation scheme, Sir Sadiq Khan has been told.
The cross-party call from the London Assembly came as it decided not to block Sir Sadiq’s wish to establish a mayoral development corporation to drive through changes to the nation’s most famous high street.
But there was controversy when the mayor chose not to attend a City Hall meeting seeking to scrutinise his plans.
The mayor instead spent Thursday afternoon at a Nigerian restaurant in Peckham to promote his forthcoming five-day tour of Africa.
Under Sir Sadiq’s plans, which have been backed in principle by a Londonwide consultation, Oxford Street would be pedestrianised between Oxford Circus and the western edge of Selfridges.
In addition, traffic would also be banned from a smaller section of the road east of Oxford Circus, to the junction with Great Portland Street – including the area in front of the new Ikea store.
Specific details explaining how Transport for London will divert up to 17 bus routes from Oxford Street is due to be published later this year.
There are currently eight bus routes during the day and nine night bus routes serving Oxford Street.
The assembly on Thursday afternoon voted in favour of a motion urging the mayor to ensure that Oxford Street became a “healthy street” that was “inclusive, safe and accessible” and which was not harmful to the environment or wider efforts to tackle climate change.
The motion called for Oxford Street and the mayoral development corporation to remain “publicly owned and publicly controlled” and said the scheme should prioritise “implementing Healthy Streets that are inclusive, safe and accessible for all Londoners, including providing world class public toilets”.
Caroline Russell AM, who proposed the amendment, said: “Pedestrianising Oxford Street is a huge step toward reimagining one of London’s most iconic streets for the public good, but how we pedestrianise matters just as much as whether we do it at all.
“Transparency, inclusivity, and climate positivity should be at the forefront of this project.
“The Mayor must embed these principles throughout the transformation of Oxford Street so it becomes an accessible and distinctive space for all Londoners and visitors to enjoy.”
During the debate on Oxford Street, Sir Sadiq was accused of being “far more interested in Lagos than he is in John Lewis” by London Assembly member Susan Hall, leader of the City Hall Conservatives.
Referring to the mayor’s visit to The Flygerians restaurant in Peckham to promote a forthcoming trade visit to Africa, she said: “I hope he’s enjoying his jollof pot.”
A less radical scheme for Oxford Street was instigated by Westminster council in 2022 and was 90 per cent under way, until Sir Sadiq announced last September that he wanted to rekindle his own plans for the street.
The development corporation will cost an estimated £5m to establish in its first year, the assembly was told.
Tory assembly member Emma Best said the mayoral development corporation would be “nothing more than a gravy train”.
She said: “It serves to stroke the mayor’s ego because just as Westminster [council] were about to put these plans in action he came along and said ‘No, I want to do it’ - but he can’t even be here to tell us why it’s so important.”
Members of the mayoral development corporation will be chosen by Sir Sadiq, with several places on the board reserved for Westminster and Camden councillors.
Tory assembly member Andrew Boff said: “There are no proposals in front of us about how the elderly or disabled will access the street, there is nothing about how businesses will receive deliveries, there is nothing about what the implication is going to be for cyclists, there is nothing about what junction improvements are going to be needed.”
The mayor’s consultation on the pedestrianisation, which ran between February and March, received 6,642 responses.
Respondents were asked for their views on two issues - the designation of a Mayoral Development Area, which won 69 per cent support, and the principle of pedestrianising Oxford Street, which was backed by 66 per cent.
Sir Sadiq Khan told the Standard last month that he had received “overwhelming” backing from residents and businesses.
He said: “These are North Korean-type results. It’s quite remarkable. Somebody is going to rename me Kim [Jong Un, the North Korean dictator] soon, but I am really pleased and proud.”
But at the Assembly meeting, the mayor’s representatives were unable to provide figures on how many local residents supported the scheme.
The assembly voted in favour of establishing the mayoral development corporation.
It had the ability to reject the proposal if two-thirds of members voted against.
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