Angela Rayner has approved the controversial demolition of M&S’s flagship 1920s store on Oxford Street after a three year to and fro planning battle.

The communities secretary said in a 144 page ruling that the retailer could go ahead with its plan to replace the building with a 10-storey office scheme by Pilbrow & Partners.

Rayner’s predecessor, Michael Gove, had blocked plans to demolish the store last July but earlier this year a High Court judge quashed that decision.

Angela Rayner’s move paves the way for the 1920s store to be knocked down

The scheme had been rejected by Gove on the grounds of its heritage impact on nearby buildings, including the Selfridges department store, and over the carbon impact of rebuilding the site instead of refurbishing the existing buildings.

His decision had been celebrated by sustainability campaigners including Save Britain’s Heritage, which led the case against the plans at the public inquiry in 2022, but criticised by retail groups.

>> See also: What does the High Court’s ruling mean for M&S’s Oxford Street plans? Lawyers give their views

Rayner’s move was welcomed by M&S chief executive Stuart Machin who said: “I am delighted that, after three unnecessary years of delays, obfuscation and political posturing at its worst, under the previous Government, our plans for Marble Arch – the only retail-led regeneration proposal on Oxford Street – have finally been approved.

“We can now get on with the job of helping to rejuvenate the UK’s premier shopping street through a flagship M&S store and office space, which will support 2,000 jobs and act as a global standard-bearer for sustainability.

“We share the Government’s ambition to breathe life back into our cities and towns and are pleased to see they are serious about getting Britain building and growing. We will now move as fast as we can.”

Pilbrow & Partners’ founder Fred Pilbrow added: “Naturally, I’m delighted by a decision which is manifestly long overdue. As Stuart Machin commented, we can now get on with the job of helping to rejuvenate the UK’s premier shopping street. This is a positive result for M&S, for regeneration and for environmental sustainability.”

M&S, which has occupied Orchard House and two attached buildings for nearly a century, had received approval from Westminster council in 2021 for the redevelopment.

The plans were later backed by London mayor Sadiq Khan, but were called in by Gove in 2022.

What Save Britain’s Heritage said

What a missed opportunity! The government has chosen the easy option – business as usual – when it had a real chance to show leadership and ambition on this urgent issue.

Our old, wasteful knock-it-down-and-start-again model is broken. There is real appetite in the construction sector for change. They’re crying out for clarity from government. Reusing buildings is great for the planet, great for communities – and it’s also great for growth. Just look at the cultural powerhouse that is Tate Modern, or converted department stores across the country, or the great Pennine textile mills that are once again a driving force in their local economies as commercial space or homes.

It is wilfully myopic not to see that the elegant M&S building could play a similar role in the story of Oxford Street, whose fortunes are already on the up.

Henrietta Billings, director, Save Britain’s Heritage