Khan: Crossrail’s Bond Street station can revitalise “tired” parts of Oxford Street

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said the opening of Bond Street’s Elizabeth Line station next week will help revitalise a “tired” part of Oxford Street – and keep big-ticket retailers in the West End.

The station is the last of the Crossrail stations to open, having been delayed due to the complexity of the build.

Khan told City A.M. today that “this part of Oxford Street has been quite tired as you approach Marble Arch, and the fear is the blue chip shops – the John Lewises, the Selfridges – may decide to leave.”

“You’ve got to entice commuters and customers to their shops,” he said, welcoming the opening of the station in time for retail’s so-called ‘golden quarter’ in the run-up to Christmas.

Oxford Street has been in the headlines recently as Westminster City Council have cracked down on a number of tenants in the area, predominantly souvenir shops and american candy stores, for what the council has described as tax and trading standards issues.

The Council has seized almost half a million pounds worth of counterfeit and illegal goods in the last six months alone.

Khan said the station, which has three different entrances including one as far east as Hanover Square near Regent Street, would be a boon to businesses in the area.

“Businesses in London paid for more than a third of (the Elizabeth Line),” he said, “and all of the West End will get the fruits of the new station.”

Sadiq Khan’s Labour party has called for a widespread review of business rates to allow bricks and mortar retailers to compete with online players, many of whom are able to take advantage of a lower tax hit as a result of out-of-town locations.