M&S have launched a legal challenge against the government’s decision to reject its proposal to demolish and replace its flagship Marble Arch store.
The plans to demolish the 1930s art deco building were rejected last month by levelling up secretary Michael Gove, after concerns were raised around the environmental impact of the process when compared with retrofitting the building.
Opponents to the plan including Save Britain’s Heritage said demolishing the building would release 4,000 tonnes of embodied carbon.
At the time M&S CEO Stuart Machin hit back at the ruling saying “The suggestion that the decision is on the grounds of sustainability is nonsensical.”
“With retrofit not an option – despite us reviewing sixteen different options – our proposed building would have ranked in the top 1% of the entire city’s most sustainable buildings.”
“It would have used less than a quarter of the energy of the existing structure, reduced water consumption by over half and delivered a carbon payback within 11 years of construction.”
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M&S operations director Sacha Berendji said: “Today we have launched a legal challenge against the government to reject our Marble Arch store proposal”.
“We have done this because we believe the Secretary of State wrongly interpreted and applied planning policy, to justify his rejection of our scheme on the grounds of heritage and environmental concerns.”
“It is hugely disappointing that after two years of support and approvals at every stage, we have been forced to take legal action to overcome a misguided agenda against our scheme, and we will be challenging this to the fullest extent possible.
