Westminster City Council has called on the Government to require Transport for London (TfL) to carry out a full Environmental Impact Assessment before is pedestrianised.
The council says the assessment should examine the potential effects of the scheme on traffic, noise and air quality, as well as waste management and public safety.
Its intervention comes after TfL, acting on behalf of the Mayor of London, applied to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) this week for permission to proceed without a full environmental assessment.
Westminster has warned that pressing ahead without the standard checks carried out for major developments could have significant consequences for residents, businesses and visitors.
Council leaders are particularly concerned about the potential displacement of traffic onto surrounding roads, which they say could lead to increased congestion, noise and air pollution across central London.
They also argue that the Mayor’s focus on Oxford Street fails to take sufficient account of the scheme’s wider impact, warning that a rushed approach to pedestrianisation could ultimately undermine efforts to support economic growth across the capital.
The council has previously opposed pedestrianisation but says it has sought in recent months to work with the Mayor and TfL to find ways of making the scheme work for local residents and businesses.
However, it says it has yet to receive detailed proposals setting out how the wider impacts of a pedestrianised Oxford Street would be managed.
The council is now urging TfL and MHCLG to ensure a full assessment is completed before the scheme moves forward, arguing that its potential effects should be properly understood before decisions are made.
Cllr Tim Barnes, Deputy Leader of Westminster City Council, said: ‘Our position on pedestrianisation is simple, if you must to do it, get it right. A needlessly rushed scheme will be a disaster for residents and worse for business.
‘This scheme will have an impact way beyond Oxford Street affecting bus routes and traffic flow right across the capital.
‘The Mayor has important questions to answer about managing traffic, noise, impact on air quality or how to clean the roads. The consequences of getting this wrong are potentially terrible for central London.
‘London deserves a world class shopping district at its centre and instead we’re headed for an unmanaged mess with noisy, gridlocked roads, poor air quality and waste in the streets.
‘The Mayor is trying to cut corners when it comes to ensuring this plan is safe for Londoners. That’s cheating them of the reassurances they are entitled to and the Government should not let him get away with it’
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