Proposals were blocked over summer with retailer later calling communities secretary’s decision “pathetic”
The High Court has granted permission for Marks & Spencer to appeal Michael Gove’s decision to block the demolition and redevelopment of its flagship Oxford Street store.
The retailer will be able to pursue a judicial review of the ruling made by the communities secretary in July when he refused planning permission on heritage and environmental grounds.
“We have been clear from the very start that the refurbishment of the existing store was not possible,” M&S chief executive Stuart Machin said.
“This is only the first step in the lengthy process of overturning the government’s senseless decision to reject our Marble Arch proposal – the only retail-led regeneration on Oxford Street.”
The redevelopment, designed by Pilbrow & Partners, was struck down by Gove following a public inquiry.
The plans include the demolition of three buildings currently occupied by M&S, including the 1929 Art Deco Orchard House, and the construction of a 10-storey replacement store and office block.
>>See also: M&S launches legal challenge against Gove’s Oxford Street rejection
At the time, Machin described the decision as “utterly pathetic” and “hugely disappointing”.
Save Britain’s Heritage, which has led the case against M&S’s proposals, said: “The court has accepted that the claim is ‘arguable’. Save will continue to defend the claim.”
M&S, which has occupied Orchard House and two attached buildings for nearly a century, had received approval from Westminster Council in 2021 for the redevelopment.
The plans had been backed by London mayor Sadiq Khan but were called in by Gove last year.
The two-day hearing will take place next year.
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