Marks & Spencer was given the all-clear to demolish its 94-year-old flagship store at Marble Arch on Thursday 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 granted permission for the hugely controversial proposals to go ahead today almost four years after they were first submitted to Westminster council in a ruling highlighting the “significant employment and regeneration benefits” of the M&S scheme.
The decision was warmly welcomed by M&S and business groups but condemned as “wilfully myopic” by opposition groups.
The row had become a test case in the argument about whether ageing buildings should be bulldozed or retrofitted to extend their lifespan and reduce carbon emissions.
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.”
But Henrietta Billings, director SAVE Britain's Heritage, the conservation group that led opposition to the scheme 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 scheme had been the green light by Westminster, the GLA and a planning enquiry, but was blocked by former Housing Secretary Michael Gove in July last year. Machin called Gove’s decision ‘utterly pathetic’ in a furious response.
But the High Court ruled in March this year the Government had wrongly applied planning rules and decided in favour of M&S on five arguments out of six brought by the retailer.
The judge said Mr Gove had “misinterpreted” national planning policy and gave “inadequate” reasoning over his decision after M&S said that blocking the refurbishment would be likely to lead to the store closing,
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.
In a lengthy ruling today Rayner said she agreed with the planning Inspector’s recommendation and has decided to grant permission.
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.”
It said studies by its own consultants showed that “the modern lower-carbon building will more than offset any emissions from the redevelopment.”
The high street stalwart had also threatened to pull out of the west end of Oxford Street altogether if it did not get its way, leaving it with just one outlet on Europe’s leading shopping destination.
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.”
Richard Smart, Managing Director, London at property advisers CBRE said: “Today’s landmark decision on the M&S Marble Arch store is welcome news for the retail sector and the development market. It is positive for the West End specifically through the revitalisation plans for the immediate area given that the store is an anchor for Oxford Street and the offices will be market leading in provision and quality.
“Growth doesn’t have to come at the expense of the green agenda. Many new developments reuse piles, existing cores and recycling materials to reduce carbon footprints, as well as using new lower carbon materials, as is the case in the proposed M&S development.”
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.”
Click here for a full timeline of the four year demolition saga.
