‘Life-changing’ eruv for Brondesbury is approved

PROPOSALS FOR a Brondesbury Park eruv have been given the go-ahead by Camden Council.

The planning committee passed the scheme by a four-to-one majority with two abstentions. West Hampstead Labour councillor Phil Rosenberg said the religious boundary would be “life-changing” for families.

Councillor Rosenberg, who is also Board of Deputies’ director of public affairs, described the vote as “a great result for Camden. It shows we’re a really inclusive borough, with some of the most innovative infrastructure in the country.”

It is hoped the eruv will be operational by Pesach. “With JW3, the Jewish Museum, Phil Rosenberg and Rabbi Baruch Levin JHub and now its own eruv, Camden is certainly a great place to be Jewish.”

MrRosenbergaddedthat“everytime an application like this is approved, it sets a helpful precedent for others”.

First mooted in 2010, the eruv will cover most of Brondesbury, Queen’s Park, Willesden and Kil- burn, as well as areas of Cricklewood and West Hampstead. Some parts of the eruv fall under the jurisdiction of Brent, Barnet, Ealing, and Kensington and Chelsea councils, which have all approved the scheme.

In its application, Brondesbury Park Synagogue — a growing congregation with around 600 members — wrote that the eruv would “greatly enhance the lives of young and old, parents and carers”. Its minister, Rabbi Baruch Levin, was “ecstatic” at the project’s green light. “It really is a game-changer for us and sends a strong signal inside and outside the community about our level of observance and aspiration for higher growth. “We have been greatly encouraged by the understanding that the councillors have shown. To see councillors of every persuasion speaking in favour of the eruv has been gratifying.”