Chief Rabbi’s dismay after Shoah memorial blocked
CHIEF RABBI Ephraim Mirvis has spoken of his disappointment over last week’s High Court decision to quash the planning approval given to the Westminster Holocaust memorial.
Mrs Justice Thornton ruled that the £100 million project to erect a memorial and learning centre in Victoria Tower Gardens — next to the Houses of Parliament — would contravene a 1900 Act that held that there was an “enduring obligation” to retain the park as a public garden.
The Chief Rabbi said: “This decision is an unfortunate setback for the work of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation and for our country’s commitment to teaching the essential lessons of the Holocaust. With hateful rhetoric on the rise across the world, our sacred responsibility to live up to that commitment is more urgent and vital than ever.”
He added that, in his view, the potential educational impact of placing the memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens outweighed any of the planning objections.
However, other prominent members of the community have been staunch opponents of the location of the memorial and praised the judge’s decision.
Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain of Maidenhead Synagogue said: “We know from the resurgence of antisemitism in countries abroad with powerful Holocaust museums that buildings do not change minds: it will be far better for the UK to use the £100 million to have an education programme in schools nationally than a London-centric memorial. “As the son of a survivor, I am 100 per cent behind remembering and learning, but museums attract only those already well-disposed, and instead we instead need to spread Holocaust awareness to everyone throughout the country.”
And Baroness (Ruth) Deech, who has campaigned vigorously against the memorial’s proposed location, said: “We won the appeal against planning permission for the Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens largely on the basis that the 1900 statute prohibiting
use of the gardens for anything else was overlooked. This is great news. No doubt the government will appeal, but this is a strong victory.”
Mrs Justice Thornton said the building would represent an “exceptionally serious intrusion into a green public open space of the highest heritage significance”. As a result of the failure to address the provisions of the 1900 Act, the judge said: “The potential impediment to delivery of the scheme is a material consideration which was not considered at the inquiry.” The idea for a memorial came from a national commission set up by Prime Minister David Cameron, which reported in 2015, and has since been pursued by Conservative politicians including Lord (Eric) Pickles and former Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP.
A Housing Department spokesperson expressed the government’s disappointment over the High Court ruling, in which the judge also refused permission to appeal.
The spokesperson said: “We will study the judgment carefully and consider our next steps. The government remains committed to the creation of a new national Memorial commemorating the victims of the Holocaust, and it is disappointing — especially for Holocaust survivors — that this judgment will delay its completion.” The government has 21 days to apply for permission to appeal.
Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust and one of many members of the community who have been very supportive of the project, said it was “very disappointing news. Holocaust survivors are elderly, and their numbers are dwindling — time is of the essence.
“Many hope to see the opening of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre standing proudly next to Parliament, serving as a warning from history of what can happen when antisemitism and hate is left unchecked.
“This memorial will stand as a reminder for generations to come.”
Survivors’ numbers are dwindling — time is of the essence