[Fraser White_Save Britain’s Heritage]

A HIGH Court judge this week listened to arguments from Marks & Spencer over whether they should be allowed to demolish their flagship Oxford Street store and replace it with a 10-storey tower.

The case has become something of a green cause célèbre after the levelling up secretary of state Michael Gove blocked a decision by Westminster City Council to grant the scheme because of the impact on the environment, prompting a prolonged public battle over whether it was better for the planet to demolish or retrofit.

The famous British supermarket brand, known for its sandwiches and underwear, is now hoping Dame Nathalie, Mrs Justice Lieven, will give them leave to swing a wrecking ball at the 1920s built store and replace it with a shop, office, and gym complex with 71 per cent more floor space.

The case had hinged on whether a full rebuild or a refurbishment of the existing store would be more sustainable, with the retailer arguing the greater energy efficiency of the new building would offset the embodied carbon emitted by a rebuild.

Mr Gove decided last summer to step in and halt the plans.

He ruled the six-storey building should be refitted rather than razed and that by knocking it down other historic buildings including Selfridges department store opposite would be affected.

The scheme was dismissed on environmental and heritage grounds.

The company says it believes that Conservative MP Mr Gove made a significant error when he blocked the scheme, after the Greater London Authority had confirmed Westminster’s decision to give the go-ahead.

With the climate crisis requiring urgent action, councils are being urged to stop costly and carbon heavy demolitions and encourage developers to look at retrofits and reuses.

Lawyers for the retailer told the High Court that the scheme was vital to the economic wellbeing of the West End’s flagship shopping street and that the grounds on which the project was blocked were incorrect.

For Marks & Spencer, Russell Harris KC had told the court that the decision showed a misunderstanding of planning law and that there was no legal presumption that buildings should be reused or refurbished and not knocked down.

The legal team also argued that refurbishing the building could create more carbon than demolition and rebuild, and, in its current state, the shop would have to close.

Mr Harris said planning guidelines encouraged retrofitting, but it was not binding nor relevant to the huge job facing Marks & Spencer if they were required to do such a scheme.

Barrister Paul Shadarevian KC, representing the government, said: “In the circumstances, there should be a strong presumption in favour of reusing buildings.

“It is abundantly apparent the secretary of state understood the inspector’s conclusions and gave adequate reasons for disagreeing.”

The supermarket chain’s chief executive Stuart Machin said in November, when the Judicial Review was granted, that Oxford Street needed the investment.

He said: “We have been clear from the very start that the refurbishment of the existing store was not possible, so 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.

“With our investment and the amazing plans we have to transform the site into a modern, sustainable, building it remains bewildering that we are again having to go through this after two years of support and approvals.

“But we will do everything necessary to secure a better future at Marble Arch for our local customers and community.”

Site with history

NOTHING cost more than five shillings and 90 per cent of the millinery and menswear, gramophone records to wireless components, were made in Britain.

A London Evening News reporter gave this resounding endorsement after visiting Marks & Spencer’s new basement store in 1930.

With polished mahogany counters powerfully lit by electric bulbs and elegant displays, Simon Marks told his colleagues that even if the shop was a loss leader, it would be a great advert for what they do.

He need not have worried.

Orchard House was designed by architects Trehearne & Norman, who handed over designs to the London County Council in 1928.

They have made their impact on central London already, designing the elegant façades of Kingsway, including Africa House with its range of stone worked animals.

Orchard House is the oldest of three buildings on the site, with more modern extensions dating from 1968 and 1986.

Commissioned by catering firm J Lyons & Co of Corner House fame, the building boasted a series of sculptures by AT Bradford based on characters from Alice in Wonderland. Sadly most have been removed, though the White Knight can still be spotted by a first-floor window.