Proposed Oxford Street development area includes huge part of Fitzrovia

Sir Sadiq Khan intends to include a huge part of Fitzrovia in his Mayoral Development Area (MDA) to transform and pedestrianise Oxford Street, according to a public consultation on the proposals published today.

The MDA would be run by a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) which would have a number of powers currently under the authority of Camden and Westminster Councils.

The area includes all of the Camden part of Fitzrovia south of Goodge Street bounded by Tottenham Court Road in the east and up to Newman Street in the west. It also includes all the Westminster part of Fitzrovia south of Eascastle Street.

“Once established, the MDC can discharge various statutory functions relating to infrastructure, regeneration, land, requiring the adoption of private streets, business and financial support,” states the proposals in the public consultation.

The powers of the MDC would include developing a strategic plan and deciding the outcome of planning applications.

It would also include the retention of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) which is currently collected by either Camden or Westminster councils from property development in the neighbourhood.

According to the proposals the existing strategic plans “have failed to realise the full potential of Oxford Street”.

This includes the Fitzrovia Area Action Plan which was adopted by Camden Council in 2014 after public consultation, and the Fitzrovia West Neighbourhood Plan which was drawn up by local people and confirmed by a referendum in 2021.

“Other key local government functions and services within the MDA, such as education, social services and environmental services, would remain the responsibility of the relevant London borough councils and other bodies that provide them now,” states the consultation.

Under the plans the MDC would be controlled by a board of up to 13 members including an independent chair appointed by the Mayor and established by 1 January 2026.

The Board would include the following members:

• One elected member from each of Westminster City Council and the London Borough of Camden;
• Two other individuals nominated by Westminster City Council;
• Up to eight individuals appointed by the Mayor.

The MDC board can set up one or more planning committees to which it can delegate its development control and management functions.

The public consultation seeks views on “whether there should be a single planning committee across the whole of the MDA or separate planning committees covering the areas in each of the two local boroughs”.

“The Planning Committee may include members of the board, or their representatives, as well as representatives from the affected London borough councils. The planning committee can include people who are not members of the MDC’s board,” states the consultation.

The Greater London Authority will fund the MDC for its first three months from its 2025-26 budget. Ongoing funding would then come from “outside investment from philanthropic sources alongside public and private sector contributions”, and revenue from application fees including planning applications, section 106 agreements and Community Infrastructure Levy receipts.

Usually a MDC has a set lifespan but the Mayor’s office says “is not possible to predict at this stage” how long it would exist for. However, the Mayor proposes to review the MDC by 1 January 2029 and again “at specific times which he considers it appropriate”.

Elsewhere the Mayor has utilised the MDC model in the shape of the London Legacy Development Corporation, established in 2012 and still in operation, and Old Oak Park Royal Development Corporation, created in 2015.

The public consultation, which will run until Friday 2 May 2025, is about gathering your views on the proposed establishment of a new Mayoral Development Corporation, which will develop plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street. Have your say on Oxford Street Transformation.

Editor’s note: This page was updated on Tuesday 11 March to place corrected maps on the page. The maps of the Mayoral Development area originally published on this page were incorrect. One of our readers pointed out that there were two different maps on the Mayor’s consultation website. When we contacted the Mayor of London’s office about this they corrected the mistake. A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The incorrect map has now been removed and replaced with an updated high-res version.”

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