M&S to shut flagship Oxford Street store if demolition refused

Marks & Spencer has threatened to close its flagship Oxford Street store if it is not allowed to demolish and rebuild it.

The high-street retailer, which has had a difficult few years, said it was “unsustainable” to continue trading in the current Orchard House site but the demolition plan has promoted fierce opposition and a public inquiry is under way. Opponents have “urged the company to refurbish the existing buildings at 458 Oxford Street, near Marble Arch, rather than replace them”, said the BBC.

SAVE Britain’s Heritage has raised concern over the 40,000 tonnes of embodied carbon that could be released by bulldozing the buildings. The group’s petition against the scheme has attracted nearly 5,000 signatures.

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In opening statements to the inquiry, Russell Harris KC, representing M&S, insisted there was “no heritage reason” why the three buildings on the site should not be demolished. He added the retailer would “not be made to trade” in the current buildings and that “it would not invest further in the site if its plans were refused”, reported Retail Gazette.

He said a demolition would allow the retail chain to bring a “new flagship store of high architectural quality” to Oxford Street, which he described as currently “failing” and has “a smell, a tangible, unmistakable expression of decline”, warning “no other retailer” would take over the site.

However, a spokesperson for SAVE told the hearing the retailer’s “threat” to leave the site “if they don’t get their way” was “not the constructive attitude of a retailer committed to the future of Oxford Street”.

The outcome of the inquiry could have wider ramifications. With high streets around the country “needing redevelopment to suit modern demands while the climate crisis intensifies”, said The Guardian, the debate over whether troubled buildings should be refurbished or redeveloped will “only become more heated”.