Oxford Street’s M&S store can be demolished, the Government has ruled, more than three years after the retailer submitted plans to rebuild the flagship shop.
M&S CEO Stuart Machin said he was 'delighted' after communities secretary Angela Rayner gave the go-ahead yesterday, but he slammed the previous Government for ‘three unnecessary years of delays, obfuscation and political posturing at its worst’.
The retailer applied to Westminster City Council for permission to replace the current building with a new shop and large office block in March 2021.
The council approved the plans but then-communities secretary Michael Gove blocked the application in July last year amid heritage and sustainability concerns.
M&S has hit back at fears over the environmental impact of rebuilding the store, arguing that all proposals to retrofit the building were ‘untenable’.
It has claimed the new building will use less than a quarter of the energy of the current structure, with carbon payback within 11 years of construction.
The retailer said the Government’s decision would be felt across the business industry, with Marble Arch seen as a test case for the country’s ‘outdated and stagnant planning system’.
