Unsightly Holocaust Memorial not wanted in London

The government wants to build a Holocaust memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens next to the Houses of Parliament alongside the River Thames. The small triangular green space, which is lined with trees, is a Grade II listed park. The park is popular with tourists and much used by office workers and local residents.

Victoria Tower Gardens - image youtube

There is already a Holocaust memorial a short distance away in Hyde Park, why do we need another one?  The memorial, which will be publicly-funded, is expected to cost £50 million and will cause major traffic congestion in the area.

Ugly looking Holocaust memorial that will ruin Victoria Tower Gardens
(image youtube, click to enlarge)

The Holocaust memorial's design features 23 large bronze fin structures that visitors can walk among leading to an underground learning centre.

An 80 metre long ramp will be required to reach the subterranean entrance, creating a wide ‘moat’ splitting the park. Weather-protected lift pods, escape stairs, service ducts, vents and grilles will all protrude above ground into the park, while extended paving areas will no doubt replace large areas of grass. 

The proposed site falls within the Westminster Council Monument Saturation Zone, in recognition that this corner of London is already over-provided with civic memorials of all types. The government has chosen to ignore this and build the abomination regardless.

Fortunately, a Charity that manages eight London Parks has challenged the government over its plans to build the monstrosity.

In a letter to the Westminster planning team that is currently examining the application, Royal Parks complained of the “significant harmful impacts” of the project, saying it “will dominate the park and eclipse the existing listed memorials which are nationally important in their own right.”

The existing memorials include the Buxton memorial, the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst memorial and the Burghers of Calais memorial.

The Burghers of Calais by Rodin, image - Wikipedia Commons

Royal Parks also pointed out that construction would necessitate three years of construction work in the gardens, one of the few green spaces in Westminster, and subsequently “queues and congestion” would become a permanent fixture around the memorial, which is expected to attract 1 million people a year.

The UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation-proposed monument, has not just been vigorously opposed by local residents, but also prominent members of the Jewish community because of its location. 

There is a petition, started by Barbara Weiss, on change.org to get this project stopped.

The petition reads:

Save Victoria Tower Gardens: no building in this precious London Park.