Oxford Street will be closed to traffic from 26 October, the Mayor of London has announced, the Evening Standard has reported. Buses, taxis and bikes will be banned from the almost one-kilometre stretch from Orchard Street to Great Portland Street as the £150 million scheme goes ahead.

Earlier this month, Westminster City Council wrote to ministers asking them to require Transport for London to carry out a full environmental impact assessment before the project begins. TfL instead sought permission to forgo the full evaluation, and the Government backed that request.

Cllr Tim Barnes, Deputy Leader of Westminster City Council and Cabinet Member for Growth and Planning, said: 

"While we finally now have a timetable for the proposed pedestrianisation, Westminster City Council, residents and businesses on Oxford Street still have a long list of unanswered questions about how it will work. If this is going to be the 'greener, better and more prosperous' success that the Mayor has promised, then issues around access, air pollution, street cleaning and public safety, need answers urgently."

He added: 

"Right now there's a danger that we will have all of the downsides and too little upside. Traffic will be pushed to the small streets nearby causing economic and environmental harm. We are writing to the Oxford Street Development Corporation with our serious concerns now it is obvious the Mayor is rushing preparations with little time left."

You can read Rachael Burford's article in The Standard in full here.