Westminister Holocaust memorial final decision due by July
A decision is set for 29 July on whether the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre gets planning permission for its proposed Parliament location.
A decision on whether to give planning permission to the National Holocaust Memorial in its proposed Westminster location will be taken in the next three months.
An inquiry was launched in November 2019 over the proposed centre in Victoria Tower Gardens, right by the Houses of Parliament.
The planning inspectorate handed its report after the inquiry into the memorial and education centre to the minister for housing and planning, Christopher Pincher, yesterday.
Mr Pincher is set to give a decision by 29 July, interested parties have been informed. The inspector’s report will also be released at the same time.
Some within the community have called for another location to be considered for the memorial, saying the Parliament memorial would be considered a ‘trophy site’ for terrorism.
Others have raised concern about the cost of the £100m memorial, £75m of which would be funded by the taxpayer.
It was revealed in February that nearly £13m had been spent on the centre despite no work having been carried out or planning permission granted.
Those in favour of the location, including the co-chairs of the Holocaust Memorial Foundation Lord Eric Pickles and Ed Balls, have said its placement would provide a statement of the Shoah’s national significance in Britain’s history.
The government has pledged that the centre, slated to open in 2024 if granted planning permission, would have free entry to all.
This would mean “no barriers to people commemorating and learning about the evils of the Holocaust” said communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, in January.
He added that the memorial would be “on the same footing as the UK’s most significant museums and monuments.”
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