The Government has made the Oxford Street Development Corporation (Establishment) Order 2025, creating a Mayoral development corporation for Oxford Street and its immediate surroundings. The Order was made on 3 November 2025, laid before Parliament on 5 November 2025, and comes into force on 1 January 2026. It was signed by Miatta Fahnbulleh, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The legal basis is section 198 of the Localism Act 2011, which requires the Secretary of State to establish a corporation once the Mayor of London has designated a Mayoral development area and notified the proposed name under section 197(6). The Order follows that sequence.
The Mayoral development area is defined by a deposited map and covers Oxford Street and surrounding streets within the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden. The corporation is named the Oxford Street Development Corporation (OSDC). The Order extends to England and Wales, though the geographic effect is confined to the designated area in Greater London.
Establishment is the first step. Planning and other functional powers are conferred separately. Under section 202 of the 2011 Act, the Mayor may decide that a development corporation becomes the local planning authority for all or part of its area, with plan‑making and development control responsibilities given legal effect by a further order of the Secretary of State.
City Hall’s programme documents confirm that, following consultation, the Mayor designated the Oxford Street Mayoral Development Area and asked the Secretary of State to establish the OSDC, with operational commencement planned for 1 January 2026. A further order will set the corporation’s functions.
The consultation run by the Greater London Authority between 28 February and 2 May 2025 received 6,642 responses. Of those who expressed a view, 69 per cent supported creating a Mayoral Development Area and corporation for Oxford Street, and 66 per cent supported the principle of pedestrianisation.
Highway responsibilities have already been adjusted to support design work. From 20 September 2025, Transport for London became the highway authority for Oxford Street following Greater London Authority road re‑designation decisions, enabling TfL to lead detailed traffic and pedestrian proposals for consultation.
Governance will follow the Localism Act model. The Mayor appoints the board, which must include at least one elected member from each relevant London council and a chair. Schedule 21 also requires an annual report to the Mayor and London Assembly.
On 3 November 2025 the Mayor proposed Scott Parsons as chair‑designate of the OSDC, subject to a London Assembly confirmation hearing. Recruitment for the corporation’s chief executive is underway on a £200,000 package, with start‑up operations expected from 1 January 2026.
For developers and landowners, current planning arrangements continue until a separate Planning Functions Order is made. Westminster City Council and Camden Council remain the local planning authorities in their areas; any transfer of plan‑making and development management to the OSDC would be set out in that order and associated transition schemes. The process mirrors approaches used for other London mayoral development corporations.
Documentation published by City Hall indicates further public consultations on detailed highway and public‑realm proposals later this year, which stakeholders should monitor alongside the forthcoming functions order and board appointments.
The Government’s explanatory note to the Order states that a full impact assessment has not been produced because no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. Policy and delivery impacts will depend on powers conferred in subsequent instruments and corporate plans adopted after commencement.