‘Why is Westminster City Council being so secretive about the costs of part-pedestrianising Oxford Street at Oxford Circus?’

• AT the finance and city management scrutiny committee on June 30 I asked the cabinet member for city management, Cllr Melvyn Caplan, for the cost estimate of the part-pedestrianisation plans for Oxford Street, around Oxford Circus.

I was expecting to be given a “ball-park” estimate to which would be added more detail at a later stage. But no.

Cllr Caplan refused to give any figure for the cost of the pedestrianisation works to be undertaken over the next few months. And this was a “scrutiny” committee meeting!

Surely the city council needs to be accountable for the money spent on all projects, particularly those which will have such wide ramifications for residents and businesses north and south of Oxford Street.

What is the point of having “scrutiny” committees when councillors are denied the information to properly scrutinise the council’s work?

After the meeting, my colleague Cllr Adam Hug wrote to the council chief executive asking for this vital financial information which should be available to all councillors and which the public have a right to know. The chief executive has yet to respond.

Why is Westminster City Council being so secretive about the costs of part-pedestrianising Oxford Street at Oxford Circus? What have they got to hide? When will this information be made public?

Perhaps raising this via the Extra will force the council to reveal the costs.

CLLR PAUL DIMOLDENBERG
Labour City Management Spokesperson