Marks & Spencer receives government backing for Marble Arch demolition

After years of back-and-forth legal matters, British department store giant Marks & Spencer’s has finally received approval from the secretary of state to demolish its Marble Arch location.

With this backing, Marks & Spencer will be able to move forward with its redevelopment for the store, plans of which had first been submitted back in March 2021.

Marks & Spencer had initially been granted permission to knock down the historic location and replace it with a modernised set up. However, after heightened scrutiny from environmental groups, former secretary of state, Michael Gove, blocked the proposals, who stated at the time that the move could cause potential harm to nearby landmarks, among other concerns.

The company opted to apply for a Judicial Review, claiming that Gove had wrongly interpreted its plans, with the High Court later approving of its arguments and unblocking the proposals.

Responding to the latest decision of the UK’s new secretary of state, Yvette Cooper, Marks & Spencer’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 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.”