Victoria Tower Gardens Holocaust Memorial: Views by 13 Nov

The Government has asked for views on the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens by Friday 13 November. After that, a minister will decide how the planning application is decided again: on the papers, or by reopening the public inquiry.

The step is set out on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s page for the updated planning documents, updated on Monday 19 October. A letter went to the parties in the case on 16 October.

The quick answer

• What: the memorial and an underground learning centre in Victoria Tower Gardens, the park beside the Houses of Parliament on Millbank.
• Where it stands: the application is being decided again after the High Court quashed the 2021 permission.
• Deadline: representations are requested by 13 November 2026.
• Who decides: Jim McMahon, the local government minister, not the Secretary of State whose department is the applicant.
• How to comment: in writing to the Planning Casework Unit at PCC@communities.gov.uk.

How we got here

The planning history runs back seven years. The ministry’s page and Westminster City Council’s inquiry page give the dates:

The court case turned on the London County Council (Improvements) Act 1900. The judge found that section 8 of that Act imposes “an enduring statutory obligation to maintain Victoria Tower Gardens as a public garden”. The applicant’s planning statement addendum says that in the light of the 2026 Act, the 1900 Act “no longer prevents the delivery of the proposed development”.

What this stage is

The case is now at what the ministry calls the “Rule 19” stage. Under the inquiry rules, the parties are invited to say what has changed in fact or in policy since the original decision.

They are also asked for views on how the case should be decided. There are two routes, and the timing of a final decision depends on which one is chosen:

• On the papers: the decision date is set when the procedure is announced.
• A reopened inquiry: a decision date is set when the inspector’s report reaches the department.

What has changed in the design

The applicant has published updated documents, including an addendum to its environmental statement. Its non-technical summary calls the design changes minor and says they are needed to meet new building regulations. They include:

• a revised skylight design
• a repositioned path through the gardens
• adjusted courtyard levels
• 12 steps per flight instead of 13
• a new helical staircase and internal layout changes
• a changed gradient on the exit route, and one door removed

The summary says none of these changes alter the environmental findings.

Options for the playground and kiosk

During the Act’s passage, a House of Lords Select Committee raised concerns about the playground, the Buxton Memorial and the refreshment kiosk. The applicant has drawn up six options in response. Its planning statement lists them:

• 1A: new hedging to mark off the playground
• 1B: a fully enclosed playground with a 1-metre hedge and railing, and a new gate off Millbank
• 1C: the same enclosure, without the new Millbank gate
• 1D: removing the café kiosk, letting the playground extend further south
• 1E: turning the kiosk counter towards the Thames walkway, so queues do not spill into the playground
• 1F: widening the path around the Buxton Memorial by half a metre

The applicant does not think any of them are needed. It has put them forward so the minister can require one or more by planning condition if they are judged necessary.

The effects the applicant still reports

The environmental summary says some significant harmful effects remain. During construction, which it calls temporary:

• less accessible green space, with two of the five park entrances closed
• Horseferry Playground closed
• short traffic delays from construction vehicles
• noise, vibration and visual harm to the gardens, a Grade II registered park, and to the Grade II* Buxton Memorial Fountain

Once the memorial is open, two significant effects remain:

• more footfall, reducing amenity for people already using the park
• from Dean Stanley Street, the memorial’s bronze fins would partly block views to the river

The summary also says an earlier finding of significant harm to park users’ health and wellbeing no longer counts as significant, because of updated guidance and design changes.

The applicant has also submitted a security note. The response from the National Protective Security Authority has been withheld because it contains sensitive security information, the ministry says.

What it means for you

• If you use the gardens or the playground, this is the point to say so. The minister is asking what has changed since 2021, and whether the inquiry should reopen.
• Write to PCC@communities.gov.uk, the Planning Casework Unit, by 13 November. The ministry says representations can be made at any point before a final decision, but 13 November is the date it has asked for.
• The documents are all on the ministry’s page, including updated drawings and a transport assessment.

The ministry says the case is run with separate teams for the applicant side and the decision side, because the Government is both applicant and decision-maker.

For other big schemes in the borough, see our Westminster planning news page.