Ambedkar House resumes museum role after minister’s decision
LOCAL authorities in north London have formally cleared the use of Ambedkar House as a museum after it was approved as a landmark associated with “one of the founding fathers of modern India” earlier in the year.
Camden Council gave the final go-ahead for the museum after communities secretary Robert Jenrick intervened to grant retrospective planning permission to the property in Camden.
The house, 10 King Henry’s Road, is where Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar – architect of the Indian constitution – lived in 1921-22 while studying at the London School of Economics (LSE).
However, Jenrick’s March order, which came at the end of an inquiry following an appeal against the council’s planning refusal, came with conditions. They dealt with the appeals process for the Indian High Commission in London, lawyers said.
“The Camden Council has now given permission for the cycle stand and approved the management plan and therefore the conditions attached with the secretary of state’s [ Jenrick] order dated 12th March 2020 stand complied with,” said Janeevan John, of Singhania & Co Solicitors, in a statement last Friday (4).
“The long-awaited operation of the Ambedkar Museum is all set to start,” John said.
“I was pleased to grant planning permission for a museum in London to Dr Ambedkar – one of the founding fathers of modern India and an important figure to many British Indians,” Jenrick said.
The Camden home was bought by India’s state government of Maharashtra for around £3.1 million. It was refurbished to transform it into a memorial-cum-museum, which now houses photographs and belongings of Ambedkar. Its walls are adorned with his famous quotations.
It was an important stop on Narendra Modi’s first visit to the UK as India’s prime minister in November 2015, but ran into trouble after it emerged that the right clearances for the creation of a museum on the site had not been sought.
The Indian High Commission in London re-filed an appropriate planning application, which was rejected. During an appeal hearing in September 2019, the Indian government argued the home held special significance for many Indians in the UK and abroad because it was where Ambedkar lived during a crucial formative period in his academic life.
The council, meanwhile, presented expert witnesses to try and establish that Ambedkar’s association with the particular London house was brief. Any memorial could be moved elsewhere in order to not deprive the local area of crucial residential and housing space, it argued.
An independent inspector ap
pointed by the UK’s Planning Inspectorate oversaw an inquiry into the Indian government’s appeal and presented his findings to Jenrick. The minister then granted retrospective permission, and with all the conditions now being met, the property could resume its operation as a memorial for visitors, officials said.