This is not just a legal victory, this is an M&S legal victory. In a keenly awaited judgment, the retailer has scored a High Court win over Michael Gove in the battle to redevelop its Marble Arch store.
M&S wants to flatten Orchard House and to replace it with a new nine-storey building featuring retail space, a café, a gym and an office. Gove, the levelling up, housing and communities secretary, had refused permission for the plan.
Gove stepped in last year, arguing that the building in the heart of central London’s shopping district should be retained and refurbished rather than bulldozed. He claimed that demolition would have a negative impact on heritage properties near by, notably the grade II listed Selfridges store across the
