Mayor of London Sadiq Khan cited "international high street destinations, such as Times Square in New York, the Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris and Las Ramblas in Barcelona" as examples of places he aspired to match in his grand announcement on his plan to pedestrianise Oxford Street.
It's a strange selection as none of those places is fully pedestrianised: Times Square is bounded on three sides by motor traffic including the multi-lane Seventh Avenue; Avenue des Champs-Elysees has multiple lanes of motor traffic running through it (albeit closed on Sundays); and Las Ramblas' central walkway is flanked by a service road either side with local buses stopping along it. In fact the current improvement works for Las Ramblas are remarkably similar to Westminster Council's plans for Oxford Street.
If the Mayor is thinking along the lines of Las Ramblas, particularly with its improved greenery and inclusion of cycling, then I would likely be in support of it. But he is not. The Mayor — despite having eight years to think about it — has failed to reveal any details about his plans because he has no idea and is instead going to employ some architects to figure it out for him after he is granted a Mayoral Development Area.
Health: Covid cases are rising again. Wear a face mask if your are indoors in public spaces and follow NHS advice to avoid catching and spreading the virus. The UK Health Security Agency is also concerned about measles, Mpox, STIs and meningitis.
If you want to get in touch with us to tell us what you think of our reporting, have a question, or would like to contribute to Fitzrovia News please email us at news@fitzrovianews.com
— Linus Rees, editor
Comment
Open up the Westminster University Cavendish fortress
As a longtime resident and indeed native of the neighbourhood, I hurried to the presentation of the University of Westminster’s large-scale redevelopment plan for the “Cavendish Block” on New Cavendish and Hanson Street.
News
Tree downed across carriageway on Charlotte Street
Metro Bank closes its Tottenham Court Road branch
Join a monthly tidy-up of Crabtree Fields this autumn
Don’t get ‘the clap’ freshers’ students warned
Get vaccinated and protect yourselves this autumn urges UK health body
Number of households affected by benefits cap in Camden and Westminster rises
Camden Council refuses to confirm if it will meet its net-zero target by 2030
Camden Council previously admitted its journey toward net-zero would be a tough one.
Leaseholder satisfaction with Camden Council repairs falls to 10 year low
Mayor of London says HS2 at Euston is ‘looking increasingly positive’
Features
Theatre: The Bridgetower Sonata, at St Giles’ Cripplegate
Public consultations
Licensing application: Clipstone, 5 Clipstone Street
Licensing application: Pastino, 92 Tottenham Court Road
Planning applications in Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia East, September 2024
Planning applications in Fitzrovia West, September 2024
News from elsewhere
Two cheers for pedestrianisation
Collecting Modernism review – unique set of artworks a testament to queer culture
Printed newspapers
In the last email newsletter I mistakenly said that the latest printed paper would be out that weekend. I instead meant to write: our next printed news-sheet will be out in December and available from outside Fitzrovia Community Centre, 2 Foley Street. See the newspaper archive for back issues of Fitzrovia News. We aim to produce a two-page, printed issue at least four times a year. Local weeklies the Camden New Journal and the Westminster Extra are also available outside the Community Centre and they also have an archive where you can view the full printed Camden and Westminster printed editions.