In pole position as eruvs get the go ahead

PLANS FOR eruvs in the St John’s Wood and Camden areas have been green-lighted by Camden Council.

For the St John’s Wood project, Camden’s approval of the poles for the religious boundary follows consent from the councils in Westminster and Brent, which are also on the erev route. Dayan Ivan Binstock of St John’s Wood Synagogue told the JC that “while there was some debate at the meeting, which lasted two hours, we were delighted that it got approved by the [planning] committee by ten-to-one.

“The council felt that, on balance, the eruvin would be beneficial to communities in the area and the council want to see resources enjoyed.

“The year-and-a-half period [since Westminster approved the scheme] has allowed our eruv representative Daniel Rosenfelder to have a number of meetings with the council in order to iron out any problems.”

Although “some technical hurdles” remained, “since the local authority has given approval, I don’t anticipate that there will be a problem”.

Rabbi Shlomo Levin of South Hampstead Synagogue said Camden was “a very sensitive conservation area. There are still a number of technicalities and legalities to be considered, such as that the poles have to be put up following certain specifications, but we will try to push them forward. The councillors have been completely supportive.”

Both rabbis hope the eruvin will be operational within the next year.

They will connect to the new eruv in Brondesbury Park and the NorthWest London Eruv in Golders Green and Hendon.