Marks & Spencer refused permission to demolish and rebuild Oxford Street store | Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer has been refused permission to demolish and rebuild its flagship store on Oxford Street in the West End of London in a win for campaigners concerned about the carbon footprint of redevelopment.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities confirmed that Michael Gove, the secretary of state, disagreed with the recommendation from inspectors to approve the plans and had “decided to refuse permission”.

Stuart Machin, the boss of M&S, said the decision left it with “no choice but to review its future position” on the UK’s premier high street after almost a century “on the whim of one man”.

Machin accused Gove of “playing to the gallery” with the decision, which he said was a “shortsighted act of self-sabotage” the effects of which would be “felt far beyond the West End”.

“It is particularly galling given there are currently 17 approved and proceeding demolitions in Westminster and four on Oxford Street alone making it unfathomable why M&S’s proposal to redevelop an aged and labyrinthian site that has been twice denied listed status has been singled out for refusal.”

The row over the fate of the Oxford Street store has become a cause célèbre in the battle over the shape of redevelopments and the fate of Britain’s high streets.

In June 2022, Gove ordered a public inquiry into the plan to demolish and rebuild the store.

More details soon …