About us

The Save Victoria Tower Gardens Campaign (SVTG) is fighting to prevent the Government from building a huge Holocaust Memorial and underground Learning Centre in the Listed Grade 2 riverside park next to Parliament.

We support the Government’s wish to memorialise the Holocaust, and to improve education around racism and anti-Semitism. We believe however that this park is the wrong site for ANY BUILDING. London’s precious parks should be preserved at all costs as untouched areas of greenery, to be enjoyed by the thousands of people who live or work nearby, or who come as visitors. It is our legacy to future generations.

A bit of background

The original 2015 report by the Holocaust Commission identified three potential sites for the Holocaust Memorial. The Commission could have, but did not, at the time, include VTG, presumably because it had in mind that parks are off-limits to development, and recognised that this one, specifically, would be too small to accommodate the agreed brief.

SVTG’s campaign began in January 2016 when, without consultation or debate, it was announced that Victoria Tower Gardens was the chosen site for both the Memorial and associated underground Learning Centre.

Why is this the wrong place? 

Broadly speaking, our arguments are: 

• Green open space - Planning policy, at national, London and borough level, seeks to protect green open space. The proposed development will remove more than ¼ of the park’s grassed area, will change the atmosphere of the park and may lead to restricted access. The existing playground will be reduced in size and become a thoroughfare to the Holocaust Learning Centre.
• Trees - Victoria Tower Gardens is lined with 100-year-old plane trees that frame the view of Parliament. As their roots extend far into the centre of the park, a good number of trees will most likely be seriously damaged or killed by the proposed underground excavations.
• Heritage - The Gardens form part of the setting for the World Heritage Site that comprises The Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey. Historic England and ICOMOS (advisors to UNESCO), have expressed serious concerns about the impact of the proposal on the exceptional local heritage assets and neighbouring conservation areas. It would also eclipse the magnificent Buxton Memorial Fountain, the only Central London monument to the abolition of slavery.
• Amenity – Very many of the homes close to Victoria Tower Gardens do not benefit from private gardens, so this park is essential recreational space for thousands of families, and a meeting place for all generations of the local community. This would be lost should the project go ahead.
• Character - We now know that the applicants expect as many as 3 million visitors per year. An influx of this magnitude would transform Victoria Tower Gardens from a quiet park into a busy civic space, with all the attributes required to manage such large groups of people.
• Flooding –The Environment Agency has stated that the proposed development ‘does not have a safe means of access and egress in the event of flooding.’ In the unlikely but potential scenario of the river wall being breached, hundreds of visitors to the Learning Centre could be trapped underground and might even drown in the three-storey deep basement.
• Traffic - The road beside the park is already busy with cars, cyclists and traffic to Parliament. Allowing coaches to stop in the bus lane to drop off and pick up visitors to the Holocaust Memorial would increase congestion, pollution and risk to cyclists and pedestrians.
• Security - Before long, VTG would be treated in its entirety as the Holocaust Memorial site. It’s likely that at times there will be searches at all entrance gates, armed security guards and restrictions on the use of the park.  Any security threat would no doubt disrupt the quiet enjoyment of the park for many months.
• Public opinion – An unprecedented 1100 people have objected to this planning application, via Westminster Council, and more than 19000 have signed a petition opposing the development. It is important to note that many members of the Jewish community oppose this scheme for the reasons we outline here. Many others have a philosophical disagreement with this approach to Holocaust memorialisation, preferring to prioritise education over building.  It has been stated many times that going ahead with this iconic building in a public park will not stop anti-Semitism, to the contrary, it will create more friction .
• Alternative locations - There are excellent alternatives to building in Victoria Tower Gardens, including the Imperial War Museum, which was one of the original site suggestions. The Government has not properly evaluated these alternative sites, even though such a comparison is required in planning law by an Environment Agency directive.

What has been happening

Having applied to Westminster Council for planning permission, but anticipating a refusal, the Government decided in late 2019 to ‘call in’ its own application.  Immediately after, on 11 February 2020, Westminster Council unanimously delivered the refusal that was expected. This was excellent news for our campaign.  

The next step in this process involved a public Inquiry to be conducted by a Planning Inspector.  After eight long weeks of Inquiry, and despite recognising the huge weight of our arguments, largely delivered by world-renowned experts in various capacities, the Inspector submitted a recommendation to the Secretary of State to approve the scheme, based on the axiom that the ‘public benefit’ derived from building would outweigh the harm it caused.  As expected, Christopher Pincher, standing in for Robert Jenrick, then Secretary of State, accepted the recommendation and duly granted approval to the scheme at the end of July 2021.    

Since then, SVTG, along with several other amenity groups sympathetic to its aims, has been very proactive.  In particular it has been working very closely with the London Gardens Trust and with Baroness Deech, another Rule 6 party to the Inquiry, seeking possible ways to overturn the decision.  This has now paid off, as we have been given leave to appeal via a Judicial Review on two legal ‘grounds’, one relating to harm to the Grade 2* Buxton Memorial, the other to insufficient consideration by the Government of alternative sites.

We have now assembled a formidable legal team and are painstakingly preparing for our days in court in early 2022.   On the side, we are all continuing to raise awareness, asking parliamentary questions, writing letters and articles, and generally doing everything we can to turn the tide.

How much do we need to raise?

Taking on the government is expensive, and despite calling in all the volunteer and pro bono support we can get, it’s going to be another costly battle. At this stage, over and above the incredibly generous donations received to date, we believe we need to raise a further £50 000 to cover the legal fees we are currently incurring, the court hearing and any costs that might arise.  

Other important information

For the next round of the legal battle, London Parks and Garden Trust is acting as the Claimant, as it benefits from its established Charity status.  For this reason, we will now be channelling all money raised from this Crowdjustice page to a LPGT account specifically set up for our joint campaign.  Please donate generously, in the knowledge that every penny counts, and that it is essential that our legal campaign should be properly funded.   

Thank you

We’re extremely grateful to anyone who is able to help us.  There are important principles at stake, mainly the protection of parks for their recreational value, and the need to ensure that Government abides by its very own planning policies, to the benefit of us all, and of future generations.  

Victoria Towers Gardens today:

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Victoria Towers Gardens as it will be, if planning permission is granted: