More than 1,000 protesters have urged Mayor Boris Johnson to intervene in a decision which could see Whiteley's shopping centre transformed in a billion pound redevelopment.

A decision was passed by Westminster Council for the historic grade II listed building in Queensway to be a part of 100 new homes, shops, hotels and cinema designed by Foster and Partners.

Petitioners, including MP for Westminster North Karen Buck, have asked the Mayor to call in on the council's decision after communities expressed their concern with the scale of the redevelopment.

A Westminster City Council spokesperson said: “The proposal from Foster and Partners presents a positive opportunity to transform a shopping centre which by all accounts is struggling.

“Westminster City Council has granted provisional planning permission but has included a long list of conditions, which we are confident address many of the issues raised by local residents.

“We await the decision from the Mayor of London.”

A spokesman for Mr Johnson told getwestlondon: “A detailed assessment of the application will be carried out by the Mayor’s planning team and a decision will be taken in due course.”

Developers Foster and Partners said they have spent two years consulting the council and resident groups in the area and feel the decision will benefit the community.

They said: "Through this process we have produced plans that will deliver a ground breaking mixed use development that is sympathetic to the buildings history but will future proof it for Londoners to enjoy for generations to come."

Westminster Council 'disappointing' for not listening to objections

In an objection letter, The Victorian Society wrote of the "harmful" and "detrimental" impact on the building, which is London's first departmental store.

Senior Victorian Society Conservation Adviser James Hughes wrote: "This redevelopment of the Whiteleys building will cause substantial and unjustified harm to London’s first great department store.

"Although a 1980s redevelopment saw much historic fabric lost, it did preserve the building’s most significant elements.

"The relocation of the impressive spiral staircase, the marble and bronze decorated entrance and the dome, undermines their significance, which lies in their being experienced sequentially and as a whole.

"It is disappointing that Westminster Council has not listened to our objections or the vocal protests from the local community".

The Grade II listed building was designed by Belcher and Joass in 1908 and extended in the 1920s.