Oxford Street has finally been pedestrianised – but how do the locals actually feel about it?

While there was a consultation process of sorts – 66 per cent of respondents to an open public consultation across Greater London and beyond supported pedestrianisation in principle – it was naturally self-selecting and not conducted by postcode. 

Local residents feel the scheme is going ahead without their approval. “It looks nice on paper, but there is very little public information,” says Joanne Cohen, a longtime resident. “That’s something of a concern, it’s all been pushed through so quickly.”

Traffic congestion on adjacent streets will have a noticeable impact. Bus routes 98, 139, 390 , N98 and N207 will be diverted to use new bus stops on Wigmore Street, Henrietta Place and Cavendish Place. 

“We have a lot of congestion already in Marylebone,” says local resident Karen Jones. “If it’s meant to be a garden neighbourhood, how is that so if you’re not going to be able to cross a road because 40 buses are hurtling towards you? You’re taking one of the only garden neighbourhoods there is in London and basically turning it into a bus depot.”

Crime remains another major point of concern. “If you allow people to congregate into one packed area you just create more opportunities for thieves to ply their trade,” says Festus Akinbusoye, a former police and crime commissioner and a Westminster councillor. 

Akinbusoye is also deeply worried about emergency response capabilities in such a congested traffic area. “If someone was stabbed, heaven forbid, in the middle of Oxford Street, and you’ve got loads of people walking through the area, how readily will emergency services be able to access that victim? Or if there’s a fire on the front-facing side, how will a fire engine be able to get there?”

While some people oppose pedestrianisation because of the disruption it will cause around it – and the challenges outlined above – others feel that it will enhance the look and feel of Europe’s busiest shopping street. 

“We are supportive of [Oxford Street’s] regeneration and new opportunities for the district to reach its full potential,” says Dee Corsi, chief executive of New West End Company. 

“The launch will be in time for the festive period, and provides an exciting chance for visitors to experience the district in a new way.” 

Marco Vignali, manager of Bar Remo, a long-running Italian restaurant on Princes Street, near Regent Street, also supports the plans. “Every Christmas they do that anyhow, don’t they? They pedestrianise it because you’ve got a lot of footfall. I think it would be good,” he says. “I think it’s going to bring a lot more pedestrians who are already in the West End [to us].”

At its core, the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street is about who gets to shape London’s future. Should a centralised planning authority decide the fate of one of London’s most famous thoroughfares? Or should local councillors and residents have greater ownership of decisions that will affect them directly?

People who live closest to the disruption don’t just feel their concerns have been ignored. Many local residents feel that their opinions were never valued in the first place.