Not just a demolition but an M&S demolition! Flagship Oxford St store to be redeveloped after four year row

5 December 2024, 17:21 | Updated: 5 December 2024, 17:22

Marks and Spencer has been given the green light to demolish its 94 year old flagship store at Marble Arch ending one of the most bitterly contested and high profile planning rows of recent years.

The retailer wants to knock down 1930s Orchard House on Oxford Street, as well as two other more recent buildings, and replace them with a ten storey development with a new but smaller M&S store, a pedestrian arcade, offices, a cafe and a gym.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has given the go-ahead for the proposals almost four years after they were first submitted to Westminster council. The ruling highlights the “significant employment and regeneration benefits” of the M&S scheme.

The decision was welcomed by M&S and business groups but condemned as “wilfully myopic” by opposition groups.

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M&S CEO Stuart Machin said: “I am delighted that, after three unnecessary years of delays, obfuscation and political posturing at its worst, under the previous Government, our plans for Marble Arch – the only retail-led regeneration proposal on Oxford Street – have finally been approved.

“We can now get on with the job of helping to rejuvenate the UK’s premier shopping street through a flagship M&S store and office space, which will support 2,000 jobs and act as a global standard-bearer for sustainability.

“We share the Government’s ambition to breathe the life back into our cities and towns and are pleased to see they are serious about getting Britain building and growing. We will now move as fast as we can.”

M&S has insisted that the existing store is not fit for purpose and is “impossible to modernise”. The company described the store as “a confusing warren of dense structures and misaligned floors, which is not the environment in which the modern customer wants to shop, and the “backstage” area where our colleagues work is of a poor standard.”

Henrietta Billings, director SAVE Britain's Heritage, said: "What a missed opportunity! The government has chosen the easy option – business as usual - when it had a real chance to show leadership and ambition on this urgent issue.

"Our old, wasteful knock-it-down-and-start-again model is broken. There is real appetite in the construction sector for change. They’re crying out for clarity from government.

“Reusing buildings is great for the planet, great for communities – and it’s also great for growth. Just look at the cultural powerhouse that is Tate Modern, or converted department stores across the country, or the great Pennine textile mills that are once again a driving force in their local economies as commercial space or homes.

“It is wilfully myopic not to see that the elegant M&S building could play a similar role in the story of Oxford Street, whose fortunes are already on the up.”

The high street giant had threatened to pull out of the west end of Oxford Street altogether if it did not get its way. It insisted thje store is not fit for purpose is “impossible to modernise” and is “a confusing warren of dense structures and misaligned floors, which is not the environment in which the modern customer wants to shop, and the 'backstage' area where our colleagues work is of a poor standard.”

The scheme had been the green light by Westminster, the GLA and a planning enquiry, but was blocked by former Housing Secretary Michael Gove last July.

In March, the High Court ruled the Government had wrongly applied planning rules and decided in favour of M& on five arguments out of six brought by the retailer.

However, campaigners and celebrities including Bill Bryson, Kevin McCloud, George Clarke and Griff Rhys Jones opposed to the demolition said that M&S’s plans are ‘indefensible’ in a letter to Rayner sent in August.

But in a lengthy ruling today Rayner said she agreed with the planning Inspector’s recommendation and has decided to grant permission.

The report from the Deputy Prime Minister said: “Overall, in the light of the significant employment and regeneration benefits offered by the M&S proposal, the importance which the Secretary of State places on these matters, and the evidence of strengthening of demand for the type of high-quality office space which would be provided by this proposal, the Secretary of State considers that the collective weight attaching to the design, public realm, employment and regeneration benefits has increased since the previous decision, and that these benefits now carry substantial weight.”

Dee Corsi, chief executive of business group New West End Company, said: “Today’s decision by the Government sends a strong and positive signal for businesses across the UK, particularly in flagship high street locations which are key drivers of economic growth. The redevelopment of Marks & Spencer’s flagship store at Marble Arch will help cement the West End’s status as a global destination for shoppers and office workers alike, revitalising Oxford Street West and reinforcing the message to international investors that the UK is firmly open for business.”