Pilbrow & Partners’ plans to demolish the flagship branch of Marks & Spencer on Oxford Street and replace it with a huge office-led scheme have won the backing of Westminster council.

Members of the authority’s planning committee approved the architect’s proposals for M&S’s Marble Arch branch by five votes to one following a two-hour session last night.

The move paves the way for the demolition of M&S’s main Orchard House building, which dates back to the 1930s, and two other connected structures, to make way for a new 10-storey mixed-use building featuring retail, office and restaurant space. An arcade would link Oxford Street to Granville Place at the north of the building.

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