M&S Oxford Street store redevelopment faces election delay

M&S will have to wait for a decision on its London flagship demolition plans following a fresh delay triggered by the General Election.

The high street giant wants to demolish and rebuild its Oxford Street store, but the election on 4 July means the decision may not happen for months until a new government forms, This is Money reported.

The news comes as the newspaper reports that Michael Gove’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities spent £141,000 on legal fees in the planning dispute since last year, according to a recent Freedom of Information disclosure.

M&S, which has been battling with Gove since he blocked the plans, argues its store will revitalise Oxford Street, which has been plagued by empty units and American candy shops in recent years.

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. M&S warned it would close down the flagship shop altogether if it was not allowed to rebuild it.