Sir Sadiq Khan has defended offering a £200,000 salary to lure an “exceptional person” to drive forward his vision of a pedestrianised Oxford Street.
The bumper remuneration package is almost £40,000 more than the mayor earns himself – and almost three times what a Tube driver takes home.
City Hall has advertised for a chief executive of the Oxford Street Development Corporation, a mayoral quango that expects to be granted planning and money-raising powers on January 1 next year to lead the transformation of the UK’s most famous high street.
The mayor is also seeking a chairman of the development corporation – on a salary of £30,000. A total of 50 staff are expected to be hired – 10 are already in place – with a £150m budget earmarked for the initial changes to the street.
The chief executive’s salary is the latest in numerous six-figure packages available to high-ranking executives working for the mayor – more than 2,200 Transport for London staff took home in excess of £100,000 last year.
But Sir Sadiq says the Oxford Street chief executive will be “worth every penny” if he or she can turn it into a destination to rival Paris, Barcelona and New York.
He told The Standard: “Think about the contribution those [Oxford Street] businesses make not just to London’s economy but the national economy.
“It’s worth reminding ourselves that Oxford Street isn’t just a local asset or a regional asset, it’s a national asset.
“Those businesses work incredibly hard to generate wealth and prosperity but they have had to deal with a road that has been in decline for some time.
“So we do need to get the right expertise in terms of the board and the chief executive, as well as a team to make sure this street is a success.
“When I visit comparable streets in Barcelona or New York or Paris, I’m green with envy. If the mayoral development corporation leads to [Oxford] Street being as successful as it can be, these new staff will be worth every penny of the wage they receive.”
Applications close at midnight next Monday, September 15.
Short-listed candidates are warned that “due diligence” checks into their background – including their social media history – will be carried out.
Westminster council, which is currently responsible for the street, has begun the process of transferring it to Transport for London. Camden council will lose control of a small area around Tottenham Court Road.
An initial public consultation on the mayor’s plans secured what he described as “North Korea levels of support” earlier this year, with about 70 per cent in favour.
About a mile of the street – between Selfridges and the Ikea store – will be pedestrianised in sections, but traffic will still be able to cross the street north-south.
TfL is due to launch a second consultation in the Autumn, setting out the proposed changes in greater detail.
Oxford Street will be part-pedestrianised for a day, on Sunday September 21, to give Londoners a “taster” of what a vehicle-free street could look like.
“On Sunday week, we will be having an opportunity for Londoners to experience a vignette, a taster, of what it could be like,” Sir Sadiq said.
He denied the resignation of Angela Rayner as Deputy Prime Minister would delay his takeover of the street. Last year, her support was vital in enabling the mayor to kick-start the peddestrianisation scheme, which had to be abandoned in 2018 after Westminster council withdrew support.
“Next year, should we get the road transfer through, we are hoping to set up the mayoral development corporation early next year,” Sir Sadiq told The Standard.
“The Government supported us, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the former Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner. That is not going to change.
“I’m looking forward to continuing to make progress -[Westminster] council have been fantastic – and working with local businesses to make this a success.”
According to the job description, the person appointed as Oxford Street chief executive will have a “a significant track record of success in the development and management of major internationally recognised public realm, retail, hospitality and/or visitor destinations, in the UK or overseas” and have worked with “commercial, creative and public sector partners to create vibrant, attractive and welcoming environments and build their global profile”.
They will have strong leadership skills and be able to cope with “periods of intense pressure and uncertainty”
The job specification requires “substantial financial and commercial acumen and experience”, the ability to raise “substantial” funds from partners and the “ability and willingness to act as the public face of a high-profile project”.
The successful candidate will have to be “personally credible with a professional demeanour that generates trust and confidence”, be “politically astute and emotionally intelligent” and able to achieve the “mayor’s goals and visions” for the area.
Howard Dawber, the deputy mayor for business, said: “We are looking for an exceptional person to lead the re-imagining and transformation of Oxford Street.”
The mayor’s ambition is to rival iconic destinations like Fifth Avenue (New York), Champs-Élysées (Paris), and Ginza (Tokyo), while maintaining Oxford Street’s unique character.
Writing on LinkedIn, Mr Dawber said: “The area has suffered in recent years due to a combination of the pandemic, the growth of online shopping and other factors. It isn’t the shop window for London that it should be.
“There is an urgent need to transform Oxford Street into an exciting, thriving destination for Londoners and tourists alike – giving the nation’s high street a new lease of life.
“This is not a ‘typical’ public sector project and it will shape the face of London for decades to come.”
