Planning applications in a large part of southern Fitzrovia will decided by a planning committee of the Oxford Street Mayoral Development Corporation, Sadiq Khan has confirmed to London Assembly Members at a meeting in early July.
The Oxford Street MDC will be governed by a board of members appointed by Khan and will take over full planning powers currently undertaken by elected members of Camden and Westminster councils and their planning officers.
“This means the MDC would determine planning applications and take on development and plan-making functions as well as other planning functions relating to planning enforcement, tree management, advertisement, listed buildings and conservation areas,” stated the mayor in a letter to Len Duvall, chair of the London Assembly.
Khan will make the appointments to the MDC board including appointing its chair.
On the board will be one elected member from each of Westminster City Council and the London Borough of Camden, and two other individuals nominated by Westminster City Council. Up to eight other individuals drawn from the local community, local businesses, and the arts and culture, retail, finance, and property sectors, will be appointed directly by the mayor.
A single planning committee covering the entire development area will exercise the powers of a local planning authority for the preparation of local plans and development management, and will be made up of some MDC board members and include non-board and/or non-elected representatives, as well as representatives from Camden and Westminster councils.
The Oxford Street development area includes hundreds of homes and historic buildings in Fitzrovia south of Goodge Street and Eastcastle Street, the southern part of Charlotte Street, all of Charlotte Place, Colville Place, Windmill Street, Percy Street, Gresse Street, Rathbone Place, Rathbone Street, Rathbone Square, most of Newman Street, and much of Tottenham Court Road.
Assembly members questioned officers on the proposals while Khan was absent from the meeting as he was apparently attending a lunch engagement.
A number of opposition members of the Assembly said that the Mayor is taking away local democratic accountability by handing power to an appointed board.
However, a majority of the Labour-dominated Assembly voted in favour of the Mayor’s proposal.
Assembly Member James Small-Edwards, who is the Labour member for West Central, voted in favour of the proposals, saying: “I welcome the fact that work can now begin to ensure that we have an Oxford Street that thrives long-term for residents, businesses and London as a whole.”
Small-Edwards, who also sits on Westminster Council, added: “There are issues which must be addressed to ensure that the subsequent pedestrianisation is successful such as designing out crime, maintaining accessibility for Londoners with mobility challenges and ensuring traffic isn’t displaced onto residential streets — all of which I and members of City Hall Labour raised today.”
Labour-controlled Westminster Council, however, maintains its opposition to the MDC.
During an often fractious exchange across the Assembly chamber, Conservative member Andrew Boff said he found himself in the unusual position of being on the side of a Labour-run Westminster Council while being at odds with Labour Assembly members.
The Fitzrovia News understands that from 1 January 2026, when the development area comes into being, there will be a transition period while the development corporation prepares its “local plan” in the same way as a local planning authority sets its development framework. Details of this will be announced sometime next year.
Khan says the Oxford Street transformation work programme for 2025-26 is supported by an allocation of £4.7mn of GLA budget, which will cover the MDC set-up costs.
The draft MDC budget for 2026-27 will be submitted to the Assembly for review as part of the GLA’s annual budget-setting process.
“Given the nature of the Oxford Street area, I anticipate the MDC to be able to leverage income from planning activities, outside investment and commercial revenue streams,” says Khan.
Details of plans to pedestrianise part of the western section of Oxford Street, including how traffic will be diverted, will be released in a public consultation to be held during the last quarter of this year.
Assembly Members were told that the Mayor still intends to pedestrianise the whole street from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road, but it will be done in stages with the more challenging job of pedestrianising the eastern section, and diverting its traffic, done last.
London Assembly (Plenary) – Thursday 3 July 2025: Proposal to Designate a Mayoral Development Area for Oxford Street. Agenda. Webcast (from 3:04:00). Oxford Street Transformation information page.
Please support The Fitzrovia News. Consider helping us cover our costs by visiting our secure payment page.
Discover more from The Fitzrovia News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
