Marks & Spencer wins court case against Michael Gove
- A judge ruled that Gove’s decision to block the redevelopment was unlawful
- M&S operations director Sacha Berendji said the verdict ‘couldn’t be clearer’
- The State Secretary for Housing will have to look at the plans again
Marks & Spencer has won its High Court battle against Michael Gove after he blocked plans to demolish and rebuild its flagship store on Oxford Street.
In a victory for the High Street favorite in redeveloping the site, a judge ruled that the Housing Secretary’s decision was unlawful.
M&S operations director Sacha Berendji said the verdict ‘couldn’t be clearer’.
Gove will have to take another look at the plans as M&S believes they will revitalize the area and boost its own operations.
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In July 2023, Surrey MP Heath refused M&S permission to demolish the 1929 art deco building near Marble Arch and build a much larger ten-storey retail and office building.
But in an embarrassment to the government, High Court judge Ms Lieven concluded yesterday that he had made a series of errors in his interpretation and application of planning policy.
The retailer agreed with M&S’s arguments on five of the six points raised last year.
“The Secretary of State did not apply the policy, he rewrote it,” the judge said in her 30-page ruling.
She also criticized Gove’s claim that there would only be ‘limited’ damage to the wider area if the plans were rejected.
His decision came even after M&S threatened to leave the central London high street and an independent planning inspector concluded that ‘significant damage’ would be caused to the area.
Ms Justice Lieven said Gove ‘fails to explain why he reaches this conclusion’.
Last year, M&S boss Stuart Machin called Gove’s decision ‘utterly pathetic’ and ‘pointless’. He accused the minister of taking ‘an anti-business approach, stifling growth and denying Oxford Street hundreds of thousands of new quality jobs’.
Berendji said: ‘The result is a long, unnecessary and costly delay to the only retail-led regeneration on Oxford Street that would deliver one of London’s greenest buildings, create thousands of jobs and rejuvenate the capital’s main shopping area. ‘
Gove had justified his initial decision on heritage and environmental grounds. But his decree went against support for the plan from local authorities and businesses.
A spokesperson for the Department of Leveling, Housing and Communities said: ‘We acknowledge the judgment and are considering our next steps.’
Some leading British architects, including London Eye designer Julia Barfield, and Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud, opposed the plan.
James Souter, partner at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, said: “Today’s decision will be embarrassing for the government.
‘However, this does not automatically mean that a building permit will be granted. Gove will have to reassess the appeal and could, in theory, still refuse planning permission.”