M&S given green light to demolish flagship Oxford Street store

Marks & Spencer has finally been given the green light to knock down its the 1920s art deco Oxford Street store.

After a three-year legal battle, housing secretary, Angela Rayner, ruled on Thursday (5) that the plans of demolition could go ahead.

The retailer wants to rebuild the store as a nine-storey building housing a retail space, cafe, gym and office.

Stuart Machin, Marks & Spencer’s chief executive, wrote on X, “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.

"At M&S, we share the Government’s 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."

M&S won planning permission to demolish the 1920s art deco store , named Orchard House, from Westminster City Council in 2021. But it ran into opposition — on grounds of both sustainability and heritage — from the conservation group Save Britain’s Heritage, architects, engineers and celebrities.

Former minister Michael Gove maintained that the building, which sits in the heart of central London’s shopping district, should be retained and refurbished rather than bulldozed.

M&S repeatedly contended that it had explored 16 refurbishment schemes that would have avoided demolition but found none to be suitable for its aims. The retailer described the building as "not fit for purpose", citing low ceilings, blocked lavatories, uneven flooring, disconnected escalators, temperamental heating and thick pillars.

Earlier this year, a high court judge ruled that the government made a series of flawed decisions while trying to block the plans.