Unsavoury scenes of organised looting on Oxford Street are a product of the Government’s reluctance to allow regeneration, according to Marks & Spencer’s leadership.
Droves of aspiring thieves descended on London’s Oxford Street on Wednesday, spurred on by a social media challenge that implored users to “rob JD Sports” en masse at 3pm.
Metropolitan police officers caught wind of the plans and set up shop outside targeted stores, leading to skirmishes in the street which saw nine people arrested and 34 dispersal orders issued.
Sacha Berendji, operations director at M&S, told The Telegraph that the “jewel in London’s shopping crown” had deteriorated into “empty shops, littered streets and fewer visitors.”
Berendji believes the footage of police officers using batons to disperse opportunistic looters should be taken as “another reminder of how bad things are” in central London.
He said: “The street was practically locked down by police to prevent major unrest planned on social media.
“Londoners know that something must be done to save Oxford Street.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “We cannot allow the kind of lawlessness seen in some American cities to come to the streets of the UK.”
She added: “Those responsible must be hunted down & locked up. I expect nothing less from theMetropolitan Police and have requested a full incident report.”
Police officers try to stop youths as they run out of a McDonalds store on Oxford Street in central London on August 9, 2023.
PA
Berendji points to Michael Gove’s decision to block M&S plans “to reverse the failing fortunes of Oxford Street” by rebuilding its flagship Marble Arch store as setting a dangerous precedent for the shopping district.
He said: “With the support of Westminster Council, the Greater London Authority, and many of our retail neighbours, M&S wanted to start the fight back.
“To reverse the failing fortunes of Oxford Street by redeveloping our store to provide a modern, sustainable building which would have regenerated the area, created thousands of jobs, drastically cut ongoing carbon emissions, and attracted new investment.
Berendji added: “More worryingly, developers across the country have put the brakes on, concerned about moving ahead with essential regeneration schemes in case they face similar top-down decisions – which should be made by local planners, who are best placed to determine the needs of communities.”
Unrest on Oxford Street on Wednesday.
GBNEWS
The M&S chief executive, Stuart Machin, has previously criticised Gove’s decision as “anti-business” and accused the Government of acting like an environmental “pressure group”.
As a result, M&S is assessing whether to quit its flagship store on Oxford Street.
The loss of M&S would likely further cement the resigned acceptance among retailers of Oxford Street’s decline.
HIGH STREET LATEST:
An American sweet shop is seen on Oxford Street, central London.
PA
For retailers, the loss of M&S on Oxford Street would likely turn already apparent warning signals into an announcement to abandon ship.
Recent closures including Debenhams, House of Fraser, Dorothy Perkins, Topshop, T.M.Lewin and Oasis have shattered confidence in the street.
Instead, Oxford Street has been inundated with US-stye sweet stores, many of which have been investigated by Westminster City Council on allegations of business rates evasion.
Caught in a HMRC game of whack-a-mole, the council suspects some 30 stores have failed to pay £7.9million in taxes through the use of shell companies that quickly dissolve when bailiffs come knocking.