General Election delays Marks & Spencer flagship store again

Marks & Spencer will have to wait months for a decision on plans for its flagship London store after the General Election created a fresh delay.

The High Street retailer wants to raze and rebuild its Oxford Street store and last month said it was hopeful ministers would approve its plans ‘very, very soon’.

But the election on July 4 means the decision may not happen for months after a new government is in place.

It comes as the Mail can reveal that Michael Gove’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has spent £141,000 of taxpayers’ money on the planning wrangle. That is the sum that has been spent on legal fees in the dispute since last year, according to a Freedom of Information disclosure.

M&S argues its store will revitalise Oxford Street, which has been plagued by tacky candy shops. It wants permission to demolish the 1929 art deco building near Marble Arch in London and build a larger ten-storey retail and office block. But it has been locked in a battle with Gove, who blocked the plans.

M&S boss Stuart Machin has labelled Gove’s decision ‘utterly pathetic’. He accused him of ‘an anti-business approach, choking off growth and denying Oxford Street of thousands of new quality jobs’.

Machin scored a victory in March when High Court Judge Mrs Justice Lieven concluded that Gove had made a series of errors in his interpretation and application of planning policy. 

The redevelopment has been supported by businesses such as department store Selfridges and furniture retailer Ikea. 

An M&S spokesman said the scheme ‘would deliver a much-needed boost for Oxford Street and send a clear message to developers that regeneration of our towns and cities is a clear priority’.