Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Lord Hylton (Crossbench) on Monday, 5 December 2016, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 19 December 2016. It was answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative) on Monday, 19 December 2016 on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Holocaust: Monuments

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to meet the authorities of both Houses of Parliament, Westminster City Council, the Thorney Island Society and other local residents and interested parties, to discuss the implications of a National Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Answer

In 2014 the Prime Minister’s cross-party Holocaust Commission undertook a nationwide public consultation, receiving more than 2500 responses to its Call for Evidence. This resulted in the Commission recommending the creation of a new National Memorial to the Holocaust and an accompanying Learning Centre to be prominently located in Central London.

Following an extensive search across central London, which included discussions within Government and with property owners and developers across Central London; invitations to respond to a site specification; and a thorough search by property agents CBRE, Victoria Tower Gardens was identified as a possible location for the Memorial.

The Memorial will serve as a reminder of the depths of depravity that a seemingly enlightened society can plunge to if it abandons its democratic values, and the importance of constant vigilance in protecting these values. There could be no more powerful or appropriate location to make such a statement than next to Parliament. As a result, and following consultation with Westminster City Council and The Royal Parks, the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation, which advises DCLG in this matter, recommended that the Memorial be located in Victoria Tower Gardens. This was announced by the Government in January 2016.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL3830
Session
2016-17
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Monuments Victoria Tower Gardens Holocaust
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk