Planning permission for a holocaust memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens, by the Houses of Parliament, has been quashed by the High Court.
In a ruling handed down today, judge Mrs Justice Thornton ruled that an act of parliament from 1900 specifically stated that Victoria Tower Gardens must remain as a public garden and is therefore unsuitable for a large memorial.
The case was brought by charity the London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust, which campaigns to look after London’s green spaces. In her ruling the judge pointed out that nobody involved in the court case opposed the idea of a memorial to the holocaust. What was being opposed was its location.
The plan was proposed by former prime minister David Cameron and planning permission was granted following a public inquiry in 2020. Award-winning architect David Adjaye is designing the memorial.
According to the ruling, other sites such as Potters Field, by Tower Bridge, and the Imperial War Museum, in Elephant and Castle, were considered as well as the Millbank site. Westminster City Council, while supporting the idea of a memorial, also opposes the Victoria Tower Gardens location.
At a hearing in February, lawyers for the charity argued that the planning inspector who led the public inquiry did not properly consider the damage the memorial would do the site and did not properly consider other locations. Also, they argued that the London County Council (Improvement) Act 1900 imposes a statutory prohibition on locating the memorial in the gardens.
In her ruling today, the judge agreed that the Act did prohibit the memorial.
The Act states that the land “shall be laid out and maintained in manner herein-after provided for use as a garden open to the public and as an integral part of the existing Victoria Tower Garden subject to such bylaws and regulations as the Commissioners of Works may determine”.
The judge said: “Accordingly… the 1900 Act imposes an enduring obligation to retain the new garden land as a public garden and integral part of the existing Victoria Tower Gardens.
“The potential impediment to delivery of the scheme is a material consideration which was not considered at the inquiry.”
She said the planning permission must be quashed and refused the government permission to appeal as there was “an absence of a real prospect of success”.
London Historic Parks And Gardens Trust v Minister Of State For Housing
Planning Court (Thornton J) 8 April 2022
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