UNESCO adviser opposes Victoria Tower Gardens memorial over ‘visual impact’
With just weeks before an expected decision by Westminster Council in early April, the memorial’s backers were hit by a barrage of criticism.
The battle for planning permission for the new national Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre at Victoria Tower Gardens heated up this week after several national and international cultural bodies submitted arguments against it.
With just weeks before an expected decision by Westminster Council in early April, the memorial’s backers were hit by a barrage of criticism from Historic England, the Environment Agency and a senior UNESCO advisor on World Heritage Sites.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites, an official advisory body founded by UNESCO, said the memorial would have a “massive visual impact” on the park, which is situated next to Parliament alongside the Thames River.
The letter also raises concerns about the park’s 100-year old Plane trees being killed because memorial’s proposed underground chamber would sever their root systems. Detailed sub-soil surveys beyond a metre in depth have not been published.
The Environment Agency also objected to the memorial, saying its underground structure could “adversely affect the construction and stability of the flood defence”, rendering surrounding areas susceptible to floods.
Meanwhile Historic England warned that the destruction of the archaeological treasures beneath the park could create “a clear risk of substantial harm to remains of national importance”.
The trio’s criticism comes after Royal Parks, which administers the site, lodged its concerns about the proposed monument’s “significant harmful impacts on the consequent character and function of this space”.
An outcome of David Cameron’s Holocaust Commission, led by Conservative Party chief executive and former Jewish Leadership Council chair Sir Mick Davis, the proposed memorial has been supported by the Government and 170 MPs, including Luciana Berger, the Jewish MP for Liverpool Wavertree, and Kinder Lord Alf Dubs.
However the plans have not met with unanimous support from Jewish parliamentarians, with eight Jewish peers – including Lord Monroe Palmer, Lord Michael Grade and Baroness Ruth Deech – all voicing opposition.
An ongoing consultation is being conducted by Westminster Council and a petition to “save Victoria Tower Gardens” has had 11,200 signatures, but the Holocaust Educational Trust and Holocaust Memorial Day Trust have supported the project, as have all major Jewish representative bodies.
However local groups, such as the Westminster Society, have been avidly against the memorial being located in the quiet park, pitting them against ten local rabbis who submitted a letter in support of the siting.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
