City Hall seeking design talent to support delivery of Mayor’s transformative Oxford Street regeneration plans
- Greater London Authority (GLA) to appoint two teams to lead the design and support the delivery of the Mayor’s bold and ambitious plans to transform Oxford Street
- Tender process has commenced for design teams to submit bids to work on the design of the Mayor’s Oxford Street Transformation Programme
- The Mayor is moving ahead with the next steps to super charge regeneration of Oxford Street following the overwhelmingly positive response supporting the idea of pedestrianisation of the famous street
- In June 2025, the response to the consultation showed around seven in 10 Londoners back the Mayor’s transformative plans, with two-thirds specifically supporting the idea of pedestrianisation
- The Mayor is working with government to establish a Mayoral Development Corporation by 1 January 2026 to drive forward the area’s regeneration
City Hall will appoint two design teams to work together on the design and delivery of Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan’s transformative and ambitious plans to regenerate Oxford Street and restore the famous street to its former glory.
Oxford Street is an area of critical national economic importance, with an estimated annual contribution of £25bn to London’s economy – but it has suffered over many years for a variety of reasons, from the pandemic to the growth of online shopping and retail parks. [1]
Following the overwhelmingly positive response from Londoners supporting the idea of pedestrianisation of Oxford Street [2], the Mayor is moving ahead quickly to super charge regeneration in the area. It will include plans to pedestrianise the main shopping thoroughfare, improve visitor experience and better enable new leisure offers, such as al fresco dining and outdoor events.
Detailed traffic and highway proposals are being developed which could pedestrianise the section of road between Orchard Street and Oxford Circus up to Great Portland Street – almost a mile of one of London’s most iconic high streets. These will be consulted on later this year.
In parallel, as part of the next steps [3], the Greater London Authority (GLA) is appointing two design teams to work on the Mayor’s Oxford Street Transformation Programme (OSTP) design. The tender process has commenced for design teams to submit bids to work on the programme, which aims to build a world-class retail, hospitality and visitor destination [4]. The contract is expected to start in September 2025.
One of the appointed teams will lead the design of the first phase of the Oxford Street Transformation Programme between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street. The role of the second design team will be to prepare a Whole Street Concept Design for the full length of Oxford Street from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road.
While the lead design teams will be drawn from the Mayor's Architecture and Urbanism Framework [5] – which works to support the Mayor’s mission to create a better, greener and more sustainable London for all – they will be encouraged to bring on board additional expertise from relevant specialists both within the UK and internationally.
The Mayor has asked the Secretary of State to establish a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) dedicated to regenerating the area and ultimately making Oxford Street a world-leading urban space for shopping, leisure and outdoor events. Following consideration by the London Assembly in July 2025, the Mayor is working with Government to get the MDC established by 1 January 2026.
Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, said: “This is a really exciting opportunity for two design teams to work together on the Mayor's bold and ambitious Oxford Street Transformation Programme. We welcome bids for this fast-paced project which aims to build a world-class retail, hospitality and visitor destination that can compete with cities across the globe.”
Notes to editors
[1] The ONS estimates on UK small area gross value added (GVA), 2021 (latest available data)
[2] The consultation can be found here: https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/oxford-street.
Between 28 February and 2 May 2025, the Greater London Authority consulted Londoners on two questions related to Oxford Street: the designation of a Mayoral Development Area (MDA) and the principle of pedestrianising Oxford Street. The consultation was widely publicised to statutory consultees, local stakeholders, Londoners and other interested parties throughout this period.
The consultation received 6,642 submissions from a wide range of respondents across Greater London and beyond. These included statutory consultees, individuals, residents' associations, businesses, trade unions, trade bodies, active travel groups, and accessibility organisations.
On the question of designating an MDA, 69 per cent supported the proposal, of those who responded on this topic. On the principle of pedestrianisation, 66 per cent were in support, of those who responded on this topic. This does not include those who responded with boilerplate text through campaigns. If all campaigns are included, the MDA support rises to 70 per cent and the pedestrianisation support rises to 67 per cent.
[3] (Note that progressing with pedestrianisation is subject to further consultation. The current highway authority for Oxford Street is Westminster City Council. This design work should not be seen to pre-empt any decisions about the proposals for consultation or on any road redesignation.)
As part of the next steps, the Mayor has written to Westminster City Council proposing that Oxford Street, from Marble Arch to the western arm of the junction with Tottenham Court Road, become a Greater London Authority road making Transport for London (TfL) the highway authority. The Mayor will continue working closely with the Council, TfL and other partners to develop detailed traffic and highways proposals for the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street. A further public consultation on these plans will be carried out later this year.
[4] Objectives of the urban realm changes on Oxford Street:
1) The curation of the retail and leisure offer, including the promotion of Oxford street as a world-leading visitor destination for shopping, leisure, and outdoor events.
2) The development of an attractive and inclusive space that welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds, that can also be successfully utilised for commercial activation.
3) The provision of a high-quality, safe, sustainable, and climate-resilient public realm.