M&S gets permission to knock down 110-year-old Oxford Street store

M&S has secured permission to demolish its flagship Oxford Street store and build it back nine storeys high after three years of delay.

The art deco Orchard House has stood on a corner near Marble Arch for more than a century, since 10 years before M&S set up shop there in 1930.

In 2021, the retail chain applied for permission from Westminster Council to knock it down and redevelop the site.

But despite council approval, the plans were knocked back by government intervention following opposition from heritage and sustainability experts .

Michael Gove, housing secretary in the Conservative government of the time, stepped in to refuse the plans in July 2023.

M&S CEO Stuart Machin as ‘obfuscation and political posturing at its worst’.

A High Court judge sided with M&S earlier this year, saying Mr Gove ‘misinterpreted’ national planning policy and gave ‘inadequate’ reasoning over his decision.

Now Labour’s Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has given the plans the green light.

Writing on X, Mr Machin said: ‘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.’

Dee Corsi, chief executive of the New West End Company – which represents 600 shops, hospitality firms and property owners around the West End – welcomed the approval.

She 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.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.