Move means communities secretary has overturned predecessor Michael Gove鈥檚 decision to block proposal last summer
Angela Rayner has approved the controversial demolition of M&S鈥檚 flagship 1920s store on Oxford Street after a three year to and fro planning battle.
The communities secretary said that the retailer could go ahead with its plan to replace the building with a 10-storey office scheme by Pilbrow & Partners.
Rayner鈥檚 predecessor, Michael Gove, had blocked plans to demolish the store last July but earlier this year a High Court judge quashed that decision.
The scheme had been rejected by Gove on the grounds of its heritage impact on nearby buildings, including the Selfridges department store, and over the carbon impact of rebuilding the site instead of refurbishing the existing buildings.
His decision had been celebrated by sustainability campaigners including Save Britain鈥檚 Heritage, which led the case against the plans at the public inquiry in 2022, but criticised by retail groups.
From the green light to the red light and back to the green light again: a brief history of the M&S Oxford Street planning saga
November 2021
Westminster city council approves plan by Pilbrow & Partners to demolish the flagship branch of Marks & Spencer on Oxford Street and replace it with an office-led scheme
April 2022
London mayor Sadiq Khan says there are no grounds for him to intervene and stop the scheme from going ahead. Later that month communities secretary Michael Gove puts the scheme on ice by issuing Westminster with a so-called Article 31 notice, preventing it from finalising a planning decision
June 2022
Gove formally calls in scheme
October 2022
Public inquiry into plans begins. It lasts three weeks with a decision slated for early May the following year
April 2023
Gove鈥檚 department announces a three month delay on the decision
July 2023
Gove refuses scheme planning permission. The following month, M&S announce it will be appealing
November 2023
M&S given green light to appeal Gove decision
February 2024
M&S鈥檚 appeal begins which lasts two days
March 2024
High Court quashes Gove鈥檚 refusal
December 2024
Gove鈥檚 successor as communities secretary Angela Rayner reverses his decision and says replacement scheme can be built
>> See also: What does the High Court鈥檚 ruling mean for M&S鈥檚 Oxford Street plans? Lawyers give their views
>> See also: It鈥檚 M&S鈥檚 Oxford Street neighbour 鈥� and it鈥檚 being refurbished, not demolished
>> See also: M&S Oxford Street: Not just any planning decision 鈥� a Michael Gove planning decision鈥�
Rayner鈥檚 move was welcomed by M&S chief executive Stuart Machin who said: 鈥淚 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 鈥� the only retail-led regeneration proposal on Oxford Street 鈥� have finally been approved.
鈥淲e can now get on with the job of helping to rejuvenate the UK鈥檚 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.
鈥淲e share the Government鈥檚 ambition to breathe 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.鈥�
Pilbrow & Partners鈥� founder Fred Pilbrow added: 鈥淣aturally, I鈥檓 delighted by a decision which is manifestly long overdue. As Stuart Machin commented, we can now get on with the job of helping to rejuvenate the UK鈥檚 premier shopping street. This is a positive result for M&S, for regeneration and for environmental sustainability.鈥�
M&S, which has occupied Orchard House and two attached buildings for nearly a century, had received approval from Westminster council in 2021 for the redevelopment.
The plans were later backed by London mayor Sadiq Khan but were called in by Gove in 2022.
What Save Britain鈥檚 Heritage said
What a missed opportunity! The government has chosen the easy option 鈥� business as usual 鈥� 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鈥檙e crying out for clarity from government. Reusing buildings is great for the planet, great for communities 鈥� and it鈥檚 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.
Henrietta Billings, director, Save Britain鈥檚 Heritage
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