Marks & Spencer says he is “baffled and disappointed” after the government paused plans to rebuild its flagship store in Marble Arch.
M&S wants to demolish its 100-year-old property in London’s famous shopping district and replace it with a more modern building with “a nine-storey mixed-use development, which will include a smaller shop, offices and a gym “.
But activists said demolishing and rebuilding the property would have an adverse impact on the environment, especially through CO2 emissions.
A report by carbon expert Simon Sturgis suggested that the existing store should be reinstalled and renovated, adding that demolishing it was a contradiction with Westminster Council policies requiring buildings old ones are kept whenever possible.
London council and mayor Sadiq Khan had allowed plans to move forward, but on Monday, Communities Secretary Michael Gove pressed the pause button.
Under his order, an Article 31 direction, the council cannot grant a town planning license until the government has examined the plans.
Sacha Berendji, director of group properties, store development and M&S technology, said: “After two years of working with Westminster City Council, the (Greater London Authority) and the local business community and residents it has supported development at every stage, they are baffled and disappointed by Michael Gove’s baseless decision to convene the remodeling proposal for our Marble Arch site.
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“The Secretary of State has blocked the only retail-led regeneration across Oxford Street in a building that was denied listing due to its low design quality and, while safe, is not it can be modernized through refurbishment, as it is three separate buildings that contain asbestos.
“Redevelopment led by gold standard retail or sale of counterfeit products”
Berendji added: “Twenty per cent of Oxford Street units were vacant and the secretary of state seems to prefer a proliferation of shops selling counterfeit goods to a regeneration of the country’s favorite street, run by the retail trade.
“As long as this political position continues (and) we can’t continue to create a better place to shop for our customers, a better place to work for our colleagues and a better public sphere for the community, in a store that consumes less of a quarter of the energy required by existing buildings.
“In fact, an independent assessment of the carbon impact of the building throughout its life cycle concluded that the new construction offered significant sustainability benefits over a refurbishment and, once completed, will be among the buildings with 10% better performance in London.
“For a government supposedly focused on the leveling agenda, the call for this major investment in one of our most iconic commercial locations will have a chilling effect on regeneration programs across the country at a time when many city centers are lagging behind and property The market is increasingly precarious. “
A spokesman for the Department of Leveling, Housing and Communities said: “This is a disappointing and misleading statement from M&S.
“Convocation decisions are made in accordance with established policy.
“It is right that a project of this significance be considered by the independent planning inspectorate and the ministers.”
They noted that the policy includes a line that reads, “The Secretary of State will generally only consider the use of his convening powers if these are planning issues of more than local importance.”