Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea: biggest 2025 changes, including Oxford Street, Burger King and TfL powers

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
The London boroughs of Westminster City and Kensington and Chelsea are set for another busy year of change as the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street and the removal of a mural of Mary Poppins in Earl’s Court move ahead in 2025.

Marks & Spencer will be allowed to press ahead with demolishing its flagship store on Oxford Street after being given a controversial green light to do so. Meanwhile, locals in Soho will see a smaller supermarket built on Dean Street after plans to demolish the current Tesco to build a bazaar and office block were approved earlier this year.

A former Fenwick department store in London will be turned into an office block and rooftop garden while the old Topshop store on the Strand will become a five-storey Burger King. But it’s Transport for London’s new powers to regulate e-bikes and pedicabs which are sure to make the biggest logistical difference for Londoners.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Oxford Street

Though a date for Oxford Street pedestrianisation works has not yet been announced, the project and its scope will feature prominently in discussions about the future of London’s most famous high street in 2025.Though a date for Oxford Street pedestrianisation works has not yet been announced, the project and its scope will feature prominently in discussions about the future of London’s most famous high street in 2025.
Though a date for Oxford Street pedestrianisation works has not yet been announced, the project and its scope will feature prominently in discussions about the future of London’s most famous high street in 2025. | GLA

In September, the Mayor of London revealed he wants to pedestrianise Oxford Street as part of a £150m project to revitalise the aging high street. The news caused shockwaves in Westminster City Council, which had set aside £90m for its own regeneration project, which it recently admitted was no longer going ahead despite having already spent £20m.

Sadiq Khan’s proposal also got the backing of the Government, which confirmed its support in its recently-released report on the future of devolution in England. Specifically, they backed the Mayor’s plan to designate the world-famous shopping destination as a Mayoral Development Area (MDA), grabbing planning powers normally reserved for Westminster City Council.

Beyond banning traffic from the area, it is not clear what precisely the plans would entail. The road between Oxford Circus and Marble Arch – 0.7 miles – will be covered by the plans and more changes towards Tottenham Court Road could be planned in future. Westminster City had proposed keeping Oxford Street open to traffic but to widen footpaths and install extra seating and trees to improve the shopping strip.

Though a date for works has not yet been announced, the project and its scope will feature prominently in discussions about the future of London’s most famous high street in 2025.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Marks & Spencer store on Oxford Street

Marks & Spencer will be allowed to demolish and rebuild its Oxford Street store after being given the green light by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner in December. The plans include replacing a ‘congested’ side road with a new pedestrianised area, removing ‘unsightly and light-limiting’ street level canopies and introducing ‘new tree-lined public spaces’.

The new building will use less than a quarter of the energy of the current structure. M&S also said that the existing building materials will be recovered, recycled or reused.

M&S’ application was blocked by Ms Rayner’s predecessor, Michael Gove, in July last year after the Tories claimed it would ‘fail to support the transition to a low carbon future, and would overall fail to encourage the reuse of existing resources, including the conversion of existing buildings’. Following Labour’s landslide election success in July this year, the decision was handed to Ms Rayner.

4,000-home neighbourhood

The Earl’s Court Development Company (ECDC) is looking to build a new 4,000-home neighbourhood on the former site of the Exhibition Centre in West London. The masterplan, which first revealed by the developer in early 2023, includes the delivery of 2.5 million square feet of workspace, 12,000 jobs, new green spaces and several venues.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Earl’s Court site straddles the boundary between Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham. The ECDC says it is hoping for a planning decision to be issued by the two councils in summer 2025, with construction to start on phase one in late 2026.

If approved, 1,500 homes should become available by 2030. A community hub and nursery are also planned, as is a landmark 42-storey residential building, which will sit on the Hammersmith and Fulham side.

At the heart of the masterplan is a new 4.5 acre park, named Table Park, with 20 acres of public and green space envisioned for the site overall. The ECDC is a joint-venture between real estate investment company Delancey, the Dutch pension fund manager APG, and Places for London – Transport for London’s property company.

Mary Poppins Mural

The Mary Poppins mural, inset, must be taken down from a house in Earl's Court SquareThe Mary Poppins mural, inset, must be taken down from a house in Earl's Court Square
The Mary Poppins mural, inset, must be taken down from a house in Earl's Court Square | RBKC/Google/LDRS

A resident who commissioned a mural of Mary Poppins on a rooftop wall in Earl’s Court as a ‘symbol of hope’ has been ordered to take it down. Kensington and Chelsea councillors overruled their own planning officers to order Patrick Spens to remove the design, saying it had caused ‘demonstrable harm’ to the local conservation area during a meeting this month.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Council officers originally said the mural had not caused ‘demonstrable harm’ to Earl’s Court Square, where Mr Spens lives, and urged against enforcement action. But the decision was called in by local Cllr Hamish Adourian who said the streets and buildings of Kensington and Chelsea were ‘not a canvas’.

Mr Spens said he commissioned the mural as a ‘symbol of hope’ following news of the earthquake in Morocco and flood disaster in Libya last year, according to a petition he launched after being asked to remove the painting by Kensington and Chelsea Council. The petition has received more than 700 signatures.

New office block and ‘low cost’ supermarket in Soho

The revised proposal includes a dedicated supermarket space on 2-4 Dean Street to replace the current TescoThe revised proposal includes a dedicated supermarket space on 2-4 Dean Street to replace the current Tesco
The revised proposal includes a dedicated supermarket space on 2-4 Dean Street to replace the current Tesco | Orms Architects/LDRS

A Tesco supermarket in Soho will be demolished and replaced with an office block and supermarket almost half the size under plans approved by Westminster City Council. Councillors said developers HECF Soho Limited had made ‘dramatic improvements’ to the Dean Street and Soho Square scheme after refusing a similar design in 2023 and voted unanimously to approve it during a planning meeting in May.

Changes include carving out dedicated space for a supermarket to operate on ground level, lowering the height of the six-storey office block and keeping some of the original colour scheme. Councillors also heard how Sainsbury’s and Tesco had already expressed an interest in the new space.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Tesco store was formally recognised as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) by Westminster City Council following a nomination from the Soho Society in December 2023.

New office block on site of ex-Fenwick department store

Fenwick department store in Mayfair is set to be turned into offices and a rooftop gardenFenwick department store in Mayfair is set to be turned into offices and a rooftop garden
Fenwick department store in Mayfair is set to be turned into offices and a rooftop garden | Westminster City/LDRS

A former Fenwick department store in Mayfair will be replaced with new offices and a rooftop garden. Councillors had expressed concerns over the bulk of the proposed new build but praised Lazari Investments for retaining 75 per cent of the existing historic façades and half of the existing building.

Owner Len Lazari told councillors the existing building was not suitable for modern-day retailing and said the different levels of flooring made it inaccessible for some. The proposal by Lazari Investments seeks to partially demolish the New Bond Street and Brook Street store and have it ‘jacked up’ with new floor slabs and façades to create new office and retail space.

The bottom two levels will be developed into ‘high quality’ retail space while the second to ninth floors will be dedicated office space and a lavish roof garden above it.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Burger King on the Strand

Burger King has been approved to take over Topshop’s former store on the StrandBurger King has been approved to take over Topshop’s former store on the Strand
Burger King has been approved to take over Topshop’s former store on the Strand | First Plan/LDRS

Burger King has been approved to take over Topshop’s former store on the Strand. Westminster City councillors voted four to one to approve the fast food giant’s application to build a five-storey takeaway near Charing Cross station during a meeting in October.

Residents opposed the application claiming the store would ‘detract from the beauty and prestige’ of the conservation area. They also expressed concerns about noise and smell.

Burger King’s top development officer Marc Balding told the committee the operation would bring a ‘new lease of life’ to a unit he said had been vacant for three years and add 40 jobs to the area.

The council imposed an 11pm cut-off for takeaways and is banning fast food deliveries from the site in a bid to curb noise disturbances. The takeaway and eat in restaurant will range over five storeys and provide space for more than 100 people to eat in. The ground floor will be used as an ordering and dining area with additional seating on the first floor.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Back-of-house operations will take up the lower ground and basement levels and include a new extractor fan and four air conditioning condensers as well as two smaller ancillary fans. The proposal also includes stripping back the existing black cladding to reveal the stonework underneath.

Transport for London gets new powers

Last, but not least, Transport for London (TfL) has been given new powers to regulate e-bikes and pedicabs. The Pedicabs (London) Act given royal assent in April gives TfL the power to licence pedicabs in London, which remains the only area in the country not to have laws in place to regulate pedicabs.

The transport body defended a delay in rolling out new regulations saying it is currently carrying out an impact assessment and plans to open its proposals to regulate rickshaws in the capital to the public for consultation in early 2025.

TfL will also soon be able to regulate e-bikes and e-scooters. In its recently released White Paper on the future of devolution in England, the Government said regional transport authorities, like TfL, will be given powers to regulate on-street micromobility schemes, like hired bikes, to allow local areas to shape these schemes around their needs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A TfL spokesperson said: “Rental e-bikes and e-scooters are an important part of the capital’s transport network and we want to make sure they work for everyone. We are pleased that the Government has set out its intention to issue transport authorities with new powers to be able to regulate and manage these services to ensure that e-bikes can continue to operate without impacting the ability of others to use and access the capital’s streets.

“We will continue to work with operators, boroughs and other partners to ensure all Londoners have access to a safe and sustainable transport network.”

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice