Greene King Welcomes Green Light for Oxford Street Pedestrianisation Plans

Plans to pedestrianise London’s Oxford Street have been welcomed by Greene King, the leading integrated pub company and brewer, promising a potential boost in footfall for the capital’s hospitality businesses.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced that City Hall intends to set up a Mayoral Development Corporation by the new year to drive the transformation of the area, working with businesses, the local authority and the national government, after he received ‘overwhelming public and business support’ for the idea.

Greene King operates around 170 pubs in the Greater London area with a significant proportion of these in central London and the West End and situated on the roads leading off Oxford Street. The pub company supports the move that would regenerate Oxford Street and its environs and act as a means of increasing footfall in the area. It added its voice to the consultation, supporting the pedestrianisation proposals. The consultation had over 6,000 respondents, with almost seven in 10 expressing support for both the establishment of the MDC and two thirds in favour of the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street.  

Neil Gregory, Head of Operations for Greene King pubs’ Urban division in London said: “This is welcome news and a scheme we have supported for a long time. Oxford Street has the potential to become a great hub for hospitality in a similar way to the traffic-free Leicester Square. Our pubs surrounding the area are situated on the roads connecting the iconic street, and if the traffic wasn’t heading into Oxford Street we would hope we would be allowed to extend our pavement trading, allowing for permanent furniture fixtures and increased opportunity for al fresco dining and vertical drinking areas.

“We look forward to seeing this plan develop keeping the views of business and hospitality in mind at every step and hope planning and licensing authorities will accommodate the wishes of businesses to make the most of the extended opportunities.”

Greene King pubs in and around the Oxford Street area, include: The New Explorer on Great Castle Street, The Spread Eagle on Woodstock Street, The Lamb & Flag on James Street, The City of Quebec on Old Quebec Street, The Three Tuns on Portman Mews South, Coach & Horses on Great Marlborough Street, Shakespeare’s Head on Great Marlborough Street and the Blue Posts on Kingly Street.

ENDS

Notes to editors

Greene King is the country’s leading pub company and brewer with c.2,600 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Wales and Scotland.

At Greene King we are passionate about delivering our purpose to ‘pour happiness into lives’. That’s for our customers, our team, our pub partners, our suppliers and the communities in which we live, operate and serve. Founded in 1799 with offices in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk and Burton on Trent in Staffordshire we employ around 40,000 people across the group with three divisions: Greene King pubs, Destination Brands & Ventures, and Brewing & Brands.

• Greene King pubs: Greene King pubs is our mainstream pub brand located where people and communities come together; pubs enjoyed in cities, towns and villages throughout the country with clear ambition to be “The Nation’s Most Loved Pub Brand”. Pub Partners runs our tenanted and leased pubs business and Hive Franchise pubs.

• Destination Brands & Ventures: Destination Brands is a portfolio of distinct brands which includes Hungry Horse, Chef & Brewer, Farmhouse Inns and Flaming Grill that bring friends and family together, delivering great service, quality and value for money for a range of eating out and drinking occasions. Venture includes Hickory’s, Premium (Crafted Pubs & Metropolitan Pub Company) and Hotels which operate autonomously of Greene King’s managed pub brands. 

• Brewing & Brands covers the brewing sides of the business. Quality ales are brewed at the Westgate brewery in Bury St Edmunds and the Belhaven Brewery in Dunbar. Our industry-leading portfolio includes Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale, Ice Breaker and Belhaven Best and our premium beers, Level Head and Flint Eye, brewed for the modern-day drinker. 

Contact: Greene King Press Office, PressOffice@greeneking.co.uk

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