London Mayor Sadiq Khan has revealed City Hall intends to set up a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) to drive the transformation of the area, working with businesses, the local authority and the national Government, after he received “overwhelming public and business support” for the idea.
The Mayor’s consultation received more than 6,000 responses, with almost seven in 10 Londoners showing support for the creation of an MDC. Of those who expressed a view, two out of three were in favour of pedestrianisation of the road specifically.
Regeneration
The Mayor has been taking a proactive approach to the hospitality sector in the capital.
Recently, Brixton, Leyton, Shoreditch and the West End were unveiled as the first beneficiaries of the Mayor of London’s Summer Street’s Fund.
The scheme allows councils in London to apply for a share of a £300,000 pot to create outdoor eating and drinking areas.
Greene King operates around 170 pubs in the Greater London area with a significant proportion of these in central London and the West End and situated on the roads leading off Oxford Street.
The pub company and brewer said it supports the move that would regenerate the Oxford Street area and act as a means of increasing footfall in the area.
Greene King pubs’ urban division head of operations Neil Gregory said: “This is welcome news and a scheme we have supported for a long time.
“Oxford Street has the potential to become a great hub for hospitality in a similar way to the traffic-free Leicester Square.”
Pavement trading
He added: “Our pubs surrounding the area are situated on the roads connecting the iconic street, and if the traffic wasn’t heading into Oxford Street, we would hope we would be allowed to extend our pavement trading, allowing for permanent furniture fixtures and increased opportunity for al fresco dining and vertical drinking areas.
“We look forward to seeing this plan develop keeping the views of business and hospitality in mind at every step and hope planning and licensing authorities will accommodate the wishes of businesses to make the most of the extended opportunities.”
