A traffic-free Oxford Street? London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants to unlock its ‘true potential’

An old proposal of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, to pedestrianise Oxford Street, is once again on the books – he says it will boost growth

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Pedestrians on Oxford Street in London. Mayor Sadiq Khan has revived a plan to make England’s No 1 shopping street traffic-free. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:16pm, 4 Mar 2025

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has begun a consultation on a contentious plan to pedestrianise Oxford Street in a move to regenerate the English city’s busiest shopping destination.

Despite previous failed attempts and probable local opposition, Khan aims to gather Londoners’ views on his plan to create a new Mayoral Development Corporation with the power to remove traffic from one of the world’s most famous streets.

“Oxford Street has been known as the nation’s high street but the area has suffered in recent years,” Khan said, referring to a decline in footfall accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said his plan would help to “unlock the true potential of Oxford Street” and support good businesses, while creating new jobs and boosting growth.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan at a live screening of a Women’s Euro 2022 football match in Trafalgar Square in London, England. He is serving his third term as mayor of London. Photo: AP

Khan, who is serving his third term as mayor of London, had proposed a traffic-free Oxford Street in his manifesto ahead of the 2016 mayoral election. But Westminster City Council withdrew from the plan in 2018, citing a lack of public support. He reprised the proposal in September.