Court of Appeal refuses Government bid to appeal in Holocaust Memorial planning case

The Court of Appeal has refused the Government permission to appeal against a High Court order quashing planning permission for the Holocaust Memorial in a park bordering the Palace of Westminster.

The decision comes three months after Mrs Justice Thornton quashed the Secretary of State for Housing's decision to grant planning permission for the memorial because the project would breach the requirements of the London County Council (Improvements) Act 1900.

The one-hundred-and-twenty-year-old Act explicitly mentions the southernmost part of the gardens and says they should "be laid out and maintained in manner herein-after provided for use as a garden open to the public and as an integral part of the existing Victoria Tower Garden".

According to Landmark Chambers, Lady Justice Andrews DBE at the Court of Appeal observed that the judge's construction of the 1900 Act was plainly correct and that the Act cannot be "wished away".

Speaking in the House of Commons, the Minister of State for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Paul Scully, said that it "was a further disappointment that the Court of Appeal decided yesterday (20 July 2022) that an appeal against the High Court decision would not be heard".

He added: "We will of course study those decisions carefully as we consider our next steps, but in addition to the Prime Minister's personal support, our commitment to holocaust survivors remains strong."

Adam Carey