On Monday the New West End Company – the organisation which represents traders in Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street – urged candidates in next May’s Mayor of London election to back its manifesto to clean up the area.
Proposals include a reduction in the number of buses in the area and a commitment to introduce a Berlin type low emission zone for the West End.
The document calls on the next Mayor to “continue to improve, invest and promote the West End to ensure the spaces outside the shops are as high quality as the stores themselves.”
The organisation is also calling on the Police “to use their powers to route marches away from the West End and towards more appropriate areas.”
It has also suggested implementing a traffic ban in Oxford Street and Regent Street every Sunday. The idea has been backed by Jenny Jones, London Assembly member and Green Party Mayoral candidate.
Jones said: “This is exactly the sort of idea the Green Party will get behind: supporting businesses, helping Londoners move around easily, encouraging tourists to visit and doing a great deal to make our roads safer and reduce pollution too.
“I asked the Mayor’s office to conduct a feasibility study of a pedestrian zone in central London in 2007.
“The New West End Company’s proposal shows that London’s businesses, residents and the authorities can work together to improve quality of life and trade at the same time.”
