Michael Gove has ordered a public investigation into Marks & Spencer’s plan to demolish and rebuild his flagship store on Oxford Street after activists claimed it would release 40,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Westminster City Council approved a plan to demolish a 90-year-old store near Marble Arch, but the Secretary of State for Equalization, Housing and Communities called for the development plan amid growing calls for reuse of high-carbon buildings.
However, Marks & Spencer responded to Gove’s “political situation”, insisting that in the long run a more energy-efficient new building “will compensate more than any emissions from the redevelopment”.
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As a sign that climate change considerations are becoming increasingly important for planning decisions, Gove instructed an inspector to determine whether the scheme is in line with national planning policy, citing a chapter that reads: “The planning system must support the transition towards a low carbon future… [and] shape sites in ways that contribute to a radical reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. “
In November 2021, Gove rejected plans for an observation tower in the City of London designed by Lord Foster, complaining about the “extremely unsustainable concept of using huge amounts of reinforced concrete.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has decided not to interfere in the M&S application, as it is in line with the capital’s planning strategy.
The Save Britain’s Heritage campaign group and the Architects’ Journal organized a letter to Gove, signed by several leading architects, arguing that the existing building should be refurbished, not demolished.
He described it as “wasteful development for the environment, destroying an elegant and important interwar building and … negatively affecting Oxford Street”.
Architects, including Julia Barfield, co-designer of the London Eye, and Robert Adam, a favorite architect of Prince Charles, signed the letter, which said, “We need to renovate the building, not demolish it.”
But Marks & Spencer’s director of property, Sasha Berenji, said on Tuesday that the retailer was “confused and disappointed by Michael Gove’s baseless decision” to launch a public inquiry. Berenji said the building “cannot be modernized by refurbishment as it is three separate buildings containing asbestos”.
He said: “Twenty percent of Oxford Street units remain vacant and the Secretary of State seems to prefer the proliferation of counterfeit stores to gold-standard retail. He added that the decision would have a “chilling effect on regeneration programs across the country”.
“An independent assessment of the building’s carbon impact throughout its life cycle concluded that the new construction offers significant sustainability advantages over renovation and will be among the 10% most efficient buildings in London once completed,” he said.
A spokesman for the Equalization, Housing and Communities Department said: “This is a disappointing and misleading statement from M&S.
“Call decisions are made in accordance with established policy. A project of such importance should be considered by the independent planning inspectorate and ministers. “
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