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PM promises law to build Holocaust memorial centre

Adjaye Associates Holocaust Memorial in WestminsterAdjaye Associates
An artist's impression shows how the memorial might look in its proposed location in Victoria Tower Gardens beside the Houses of Parliament

Rishi Sunak has promised a new law that will allow a Holocaust memorial centre to be built next to Parliament.

The prime minister said the government would take action after campaigners won a legal battle to quash planning permission for the national memorial.

The plan for Victoria Tower Gardens ran into difficulties over a 1900 law protecting the parkland.

But Mr Sunak told MPs on Wednesday that the government would legislate to ensure it was built.

Planning permission for the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre at Victoria Tower Gardens was granted in July 2021 after a public inquiry and the recommendations of planning inspector David Morgan.

But it was challenged in the High Court by the London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust, which argued against building the centre on the small triangular Grade II-listed park to the south of Parliament.

The London County Council (Improvements) Act 1900 required the land to be used as a public park.

Adjaye Associates Arial viewAdjaye Associates
The proposed plans feature 23 large bronze fin structures and an underground learning centre

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day on Friday, Mr Sunak said the Holocaust Memorial Bill would update the 1900 legislation, removing the legal obstacle that has blocked the Victoria Tower Gardens project.

Communities Secretary Michael Gove said: "We are committed to building the memorial next to Parliament, a site which reflects its national significance and is close to other important memorials including the Cenotaph.

"We owe it to Holocaust survivors, to the British people and future generations to remember where hatred can lead."

The London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust is now known as London Parks and Gardens (LPG).

A spokesperson for the group said it was right that Parliament should decide the best place for the memorial.

"Our legal challenge never sought to question the need for a fitting Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre, but simply to protect the laws which stop public parks from being built on," the spokesperson added.

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