Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons the Government did not hold a public consultation on the proposal to locate the Holocaust Memorial and Holocaust Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens before making its decision.

The independent Holocaust Commission received 2500 responses to its public consultation. Following feedback from this consultation, the Commission recommended that the UK should have a new Memorial in a prominent central London location. Victoria Tower Gardens was identified through an extensive search, which considered a range of central London locations. The park is owned by the government and leased to Royal Parks. The UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation, a cross party Advisory Board’s view was that Victoria Tower Gardens met the aims of the Commission and recommended it to government. The government accepted this recommendation.

Of course, the local planning authority will undertake a formal period of public consultation prior to deciding a planning application (as is their obligation under Article 15 of the Development Management Procedure Order 2015). We will continue to consult residents throughout the process of design refinement.