M&S takes UK to High Court over blocked rebuild of London flagship

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Marks and Spencer has launched a legal challenge in the High Court against Michael Gove’s decision last month to stop the UK retailer from rebuilding its Art Deco flagship in London’s Marble Arch.

M&S said the communities secretary had “wrongly interpreted” planning policy, announcing on Thursday that it was seeking leave to bring a judicial review.

The move comes after Gove last month overturned a decision by Westminster council to approve plans by the company to redevelop the site.

Under the proposals — which have become a flashpoint in a wider debate over the construction industry’s role in decarbonising the UK economy — three existing buildings would be demolished to make way for a nine-storey development, including a new M&S store, restaurants, offices and a gym.

Rejecting the company’s plans, Gove said the project could harm nearby protected landmarks, including the neighbouring Selfridges department store and conservation areas, and would fail to support the UK’s ambitions to transition to a low-carbon future.

The government’s decision — criticised by Stuart Machin, M&S chief executive, as “utterly pathetic” — prompted the retailer to warn that it may quit Oxford Street entirely if its redevelopment plans were blocked.

Sacha Berendji, operations director at M&S, said on Thursday that it was “hugely disappointing” that the retailer had “after two years of support and approvals at every stage . . . been forced to take legal action to overcome a misguided agenda”.

“We will be challenging this to the fullest extent possible,” he added. 

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The High Court is not obliged to approve a judicial review, which if approved could drag on for months.

Andrew Keith, Selfridges’ managing director, this month described Gove’s decision as “highly disappointing at a time when investment on Oxford Street has never been more needed”.

Westminster council viewed the project as a key part of its wider ambitions to revitalise Marble Arch, an area of London’s West End that is now home to many discount sweet shops and so-called tourist traps. 

Henrietta Billings, director of SAVE Britain’s Heritage, said in regard to M&S’s move that Gove had “made the right decision in dismissing the demolition proposal” and called on his department to “resolutely defend this case”.

In July, the conservation group argued that M&S had not fully explored alternatives to demolition.

Gary Sector, partner at law firm Addleshaw Goddard, said the case would be watched “very closely by the industry”. He added that developers would come under greater pressure in future to provide evidence-based justification for carbon emissions resulting from the construction and use of a building over its entire life.