A stretch of London’s Oxford Street is to be vehicle-free as part of £150m government-backed scheme

Much of Britain’s most famous shopping street will be closed to traffic from Monday as the long-awaited pedestrianisation of London’s Oxford Street begins.

About half of the 1.2 mile street will initially be vehicle-free, after decades of planning and dispute over how to best use the street, an important transport thoroughfare and the home for flagship stores for big shopping chains.