Westminster Council demands full environmental assessment of traffic displacement before TfL closes Oxford Street

Westminster Council has written to the Mayor of London and the Government demanding that a full environmental impact assessment (EIA) be carried out before part of Oxford Street is pedestrianised this autumn.

“This scheme will have an impact way beyond Oxford Street affecting bus routes and traffic flow right across the capital,” says Cllr Tim Barnes, deputy leader of Westminster Council.

“The Mayor has important questions to answer about managing traffic, noise, impact on air quality or how to clean the roads. The consequences of getting this wrong are potentially terrible for central London.”

Work is due to begin in early September to enable the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street between Great Portland Street and Orchard Street. Buses and taxis, along with cyclists, will be diverted through side streets under the proposals.

The council says the scheme is being rushed through without the checks to assess the impact “on air quality, noise, traffic, waste management and even public safety”.

According to the council, Transport for London (TfL) has sought permission from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to forego a full impact assessment.

Proceeding without considering the potential impact “will have a detrimental impact on residents, businesses and visitors alike”, and it has yet to see “any detailed proposals for how the impact of a newly pedestrianised Oxford Street would be managed”.

“The Mayor is trying to cut corners when it comes to ensuring this plan is safe for Londoners. That’s cheating them of the reassurances they are entitled to and the Government should not let him get away with it,” says Barnes.

The Mayor’s plans remain extremely unpopular with residents in the neighbourhoods surrounding Oxford Street.

In an email sent to residents groups, and seen by The Fitzrovia News, Westminster Council’s executive director of regeneration, economy and planning, said:

“The Council has expressed significant concerns about the substance of the screening material provided by TfL.

“The Council also considers that the equalities impact of the proposals requires fuller assessment, given the scale of change proposed and the importance of Oxford Street as a key route and destination for residents, workers, visitors, and businesses.

“It is our view that the current screening material does not provide a sufficient basis for understanding those effects before decisions are taken. The Council has now submitted a formal response requesting that a positive screening direction is made, requiring a full EIA.”

Westminster Council’s Conservative leadership remains strongly opposed to the Labour mayor’s plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street. The council’s previous Labour administration also opposed Sadiq Khan’s traffic-free plan. However, both administrations said they would co-operate with the Mayor to make the project work for the people of the City of Westminster.

In September 2025 TfL became the highway authority for Oxford Street and in January this year the Oxford Street Development Corporation (OSDC) came into effect. In early August it began to operate as the local planning authority.

Those moves took away many local authority powers from Westminster Council and handed them to the Mayor of London and his appointed development corporation.

TfL says it has submitted an environmental impact assessment screening opinion to the Government and is awaiting the outcome.

“This will determine whether a full environmental impact assessment is required and will influence when the transformation works begin.”

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