Oxford Street Development Corporation Approved for 2026

Oxford Street is getting its own development body. The UK Government has made an order to set up the Oxford Street Development Corporation, requested by the Mayor of London under the Localism Act 2011. If you live, work or study near the West End, this is the decision that will shape streets, transport and building plans over the next few years. The legal power for creating Mayoral Development Corporations (MDCs) sits in section 198 of that Act.

Let’s pin down the dates, because they matter in law. The order was made on 3 November 2025, laid before Parliament on 5 November 2025, and it comes into force on 1 January 2026. ‘Made’ means the minister has signed it; ‘laid’ means Parliament is formally notified; ‘in force’ is when the new corporation can start using its powers. The timeline mirrors what City Hall has already flagged for Oxford Street.

Where is the area? The order defines a Mayoral development area in central London covering Oxford Street and neighbouring streets across the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden. The legal boundary sits on a map marked by a black line. For transparency, hard copies can be inspected free of charge by appointment at 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF (the department’s offices) and at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, London E16 1ZE.

What is an MDC, in plain English? It’s a publicly controlled corporation for a defined patch of London, set up to speed up regeneration and coordinate complex projects. The Secretary of State establishes it once the Mayor designates the area and notifies the name, and the corporation then exists in law with its own board and duties. Those steps are laid out in the Localism Act 2011.

Will this new body set the planning rules from day one? Not automatically. In London, an MDC can be given planning powers through a separate legal order that transfers some or all planning functions for the area. City Hall has signalled that the Oxford Street body will operate with full planning authority powers, but the detail arrives through follow‑on instruments and appointments.

Why is this happening now? City Hall ran a consultation earlier this year on turning Oxford Street into a safer, more people‑friendly route and on creating an MDC to drive regeneration. According to the Mayor’s decision documents, 69% of respondents supported designating a Mayoral Development Area and setting up an MDC; 66% supported the principle of pedestrianisation. The Mayor has also moved to redesignate Oxford Street as a GLA Road to enable Transport for London to lead detailed traffic proposals.

Who signed the order? Miatta Fahnbulleh, the Parliamentary Under‑Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, signed on behalf of the Secretary of State. Her ministerial brief includes devolution and local growth, which explains why this file sits on her desk.

If you’re studying government or planning, the process here is a useful case study. The Mayor first designates a Mayoral Development Area and notifies the Secretary of State; the London Assembly can reject the designation with a two‑thirds vote within a set period; then the Government establishes the corporation by order and, if needed, follows up with an order on planning powers. That sequence is written into sections 197 and 198 of the Localism Act and explained by the Assembly’s own briefings.

For residents, students and local businesses, what changes next is mostly practical. Expect Transport for London to consult on detailed street and public transport designs, including proposals that would remove through‑traffic along much of Oxford Street. That consultation is where you can raise safety, access and delivery questions, and it will sit alongside the corporation’s early work once it starts on 1 January 2026.

Quick explainer for your notes: the order says it ‘extends to England and Wales’, but the development area itself is only in Greater London. ‘Extent’ is a legal term about where the law applies; the mapped boundary is about where the corporation actually operates. It’s a common feature of UK statutory instruments.

There’s also context from elsewhere in London. The capital already has two Mayoral Development Corporations-the London Legacy Development Corporation around the Olympic Park and the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation in west London-set up to manage big, multi‑year regeneration tasks. Oxford Street would be the next one to join that group from January 2026.

A line in the official note says no full impact assessment has been produced because no significant impact is foreseen at this stage. That doesn’t mean no impact; it means the establishment step on its own has limited effects. The bigger economic, transport and planning effects will flow from board decisions, any planning powers order, and the detailed street changes that follow.

If you’re teaching this, here’s a simple way to frame it for your class: a Mayor identifies a place that needs focused, cross‑agency work; a map defines the patch; Parliament is notified; and a new corporation is created to make change happen faster, with democratic oversight from the London Assembly and town halls. Watch for three things next-board appointments, any order transferring planning powers, and the TfL consultation-because that’s where you will see power, accountability and design choices take shape.