W1 London news: Oxford Street spending up 28% in its first traffic-free week as the West End lights go on (14 November 2026)
The first figures from traffic-free Oxford Street are in, and City Hall says spending, footfall and evening visits all rose in week one. Regent Street and Oxford Street switched on their Christmas lights, Veeraswamy went back to court over its Regent Street home, and two new places are on the way in Soho.
Oxford Street spending rose 28% and footfall 16% in the first traffic-free week, City Hall says
City Hall published the first figures from the pedestrianised stretch of Oxford Street, between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street, on 9 November. Payments data from Adyen shows spending at the Oxford Street stores in its year-on-year comparison rose by 28%, from around £2.9 million to £3.7 million, with in-store transactions up 19% and the average spend per transaction up from £100 to £107. Footfall on the traffic-free stretch was 16% higher than in October half-term 2025, with international visitors up 42% and domestic visitors up 14%.
The wider Oxford Street area averaged 292,835 visitors a day, up 9% year on year, and visits after 6pm were up 19%. TfL's counts at Bond Street and Oxford Circus Tube stations were up 7.4% and 8.0% on the same week last year. Traffic on surrounding roads was described as broadly stable, with full bus route data due in the coming weeks. The Mayor called this the first stage of a phased scheme, with little construction planned before Christmas. Note the comparison is one week against a half-term week a year ago. Read the Mayor of London release.
Source: Mayor of London, 9 November 2026.
Regent Street's angels went up on 5 November and Oxford Street's Harry Potter lights on 9 November
Regent Street switched on its Spirit of Christmas lights on Thursday 5 November, the tenth year the angels have hung over the street, which closed to cars from 5pm to 9pm for the event. Regent Street was the first road in London to put up Christmas lights, in 1954. Time Out has the details.
Oxford Street followed on Monday 9 November with a Harry Potter theme, tied to the new TV series that starts on Christmas Day. The switch-on event ran from about 2pm to 7pm, hosted by Sam Thompson with DJ sets from Marvin Humes. The new Harry Potter flagship store opened on Oxford Street on 4 November (Time Out).
Sources: Time Out London, 4 November 2026, Time Out London, 9 November 2026.
Veeraswamy was back in court on 5 November in its fight to stay at Victory House
Veeraswamy, Britain's oldest Indian restaurant, returned to Central London County Court on 5 November to contest the Crown Estate's attempt to take back its premises at Victory House, near Piccadilly Circus. A five-day hearing due to begin on 29 June had been postponed. The Michelin-starred restaurant, owned by MW Eat, has kept trading since its £205,000-a-year lease expired last summer, when the Crown Estate declined to renew it.
The Crown Estate has offered £500,000 to help it move; MW Eat estimates a move would cost £5 million. A petition signed by more than 20,000 people went to Buckingham Palace in February, and the restaurant marked its centenary on 16 March. No outcome had been reported when we went to press. Restaurant Online has the background.
Source: Restaurant Online, 5 November 2026.
Cleveland Street cycleway in Fitzrovia will not be finished until 2027 or 2028
The Camden and Westminster cycleway on Cleveland Street is largely built, with new zebra crossings already in, but a Camden Council report says completion has slipped from this year to 2027 or 2028. The last 300 metres on the Camden side, between Howland Street and Tottenham Street, has to wait for development sites along the street to finish, and Camden has applied to TfL for £100k to complete it. Fitzrovia News reported the delay on 5 November.
Source: Fitzrovia News, 5 November 2026.
Homer Lobster opens on D'Arblay Street on 1 December and Fulvio's on Great Chapel Street on 16 November
Paris lobster roll shop Homer Lobster will open its first permanent site outside Paris at 5 D'Arblay Street, W1F, on 1 December, in the old Happiness matcha bar next to Crème. Expect lobster and crayfish rolls, a crab roll, a tuna melt and a lobster grilled cheese (Hot Dinners).
Round the corner, Fatto a Mano, which runs six pizzerias in London, opens Fulvio's, a focaccia sandwich shop, at 3 Great Chapel Street, W1F, on 16 November, with fillings such as mortadella with 24-month aged Parmesan and artichoke cream (Hot Dinners).
Sources: Hot Dinners, 9 November 2026, Hot Dinners, 4 November 2026.
What this means for W1 residents, workers and visitors
Oxford Street is busier on foot since the traffic went, and with both sets of lights now on, expect heavy crowds in the evenings and at weekends until Christmas. If you cycle through Fitzrovia, the Cleveland Street contraflow is usable for most of its length but the stretch between Howland Street and Tottenham Street is not finished.