M&S begins legal action after plan to rebuild Oxford Street store blocked

The chief executive of M&S has previously said the decision left the retailer with 'no choice but to review its future position” on the UK’s premier high street. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

Marks & Spencer has launched a legal challenge against a government decision to block its plans to demolish and redevelop its store on London’s Oxford Street.

Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, last month refused permission to redevelop the store near Marble Arch in the West End in a win for campaigners concerned about the carbon footprint of redevelopment.