Tim Lord, from the Soho Society, criticized the mayor's pedestrianisation proposal for creating uncertainty among developers and having detrimental impacts on local plans. A pre-existing transformation plan by Westminster City Council aimed to improve Oxford Street while maintaining vehicle access. The mayor's announcements disrupted local consensus, leading to disappointment among residents and the withdrawal of business funding for necessary improvements.
The residents are pretty disappointed, because instead of having a certainty for improvements to Oxford Street, that would already be under way, we are now back in the world of an enormously contentious - with the local community - idea about pedestrianisation.
All of that work has now been lost and wasted, because of a press release from the mayor in September saying that he might consider pedestrianisation.
His plans were announced despite the fact that the Labour-led Westminster City Council had already set out shovel ready plans for a 150m transformation of the wider area, which sought to make the street more pleasant for pedestrians while crucially maintaining vehicular access.
Mr Lord told the Assembly's planning and regeneration committee that the mayor's intervention had disturbed a consensus among local residents.
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