COUNCILLORS have agreed to push ahead the transformation of Oxford Street despite not having secured private finance for the latest phase of scheme.

The Oxford Street Programme is a £150million project by Westminster City Council to revamp the famous street with wider pavements, trees, and better crossings from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road.

The scheme is relying on investment from the private sector – half of the total bill for Oxford Street – but a meeting heard this has not yet been officially agreed. Final designs are hoped to be completed over the next seven months after Westminster city cabinet members agreed to spend £3.85million on “stage 3” of the project.

Lead planning councillor Geoff Barraclough said: “Oxford Street accounts for 5 per cent of London’s economy on its own. The decline in rental values during Covid has cost the taxpayers £81million a year. If the sales rise by 5 per cent, that brings in £65million in VAT, money that can be used for schools and hospitals up and down the country.”

“We know the public realm is far from world class. We need to invest in wider pavements, more trees, improve the crossings.”

He added that the public commitment of the council has “helped the private sector invest”.

But a report to cabinet said the council “does not have the financial assurance that 50 per cent of the required third-party funding will be secured” from the private sector.

The New West End Company, which represents hundreds of companies in the West End, is tasked with locking down the funds for the council’s project.

The report warned that “additional costs will be incurred while the project is paused, 50 per cent of which may not be recovered if a funding agreement cannot be secured”.

Despite this, officers recommended pushing ahead with the latest phase.

In total the city council plans to spend £89million on Oxford Street, £25million on Oxford Circus £16million on highway schemes, and £16million on other “complementary schemes”.

Paul Dimoldenberg, the lead councillor on air quality, described the meeting as a “landmark”, and said: “We need to take the next step to make this a reality. There’s been a lot of talking. A lot of opinions. Now is the time when we take a decisive step forward.”

He felt the council had the support of the private sector and said: “We hope that whatever form that comes in we can be sure we are marching to the same tune. Let’s keep the momentum going and actually do this thing.”

A public consultation found 65 per cent of respondents expressed “support” or “strong support| for the programme overall.

The business case for the project was approved in September last year.

A representative from the New West End Company told the meeting that “momentum is building” among investors and there was a “genuine sense of excitement that after years this would happen, something amazing is within our grasp. We are committed with the private sector to get there.”

Paul Williams, a chartered surveyor at Derwent London who is working to secure the investment, said: “We’ve done a lot of key work with various owners across the street. We have got to get the final documents in place but there is a strong belief that this is the right scheme at the right time. It’s a really clever scheme and what Oxford Street needs.”

The council agreed to spend £3.85million to press ahead with design work.