A £100m national Holocaust Memorial and learning centre is set to be built in London’s Victoria Tower Gardens near Parliament after the project was granted planning permission.
Construction work is planned to start in late 2021 ahead of completion in autumn 2024.
The memorial will honour the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered in the Holocaust, as well as all other victims of Nazi persecution, including the Roma, gay and disabled people. Entry will be free to all visitors.
The adjacent learning centre will also focus on subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. It will feature historic photographs, film footage and audio recordings so that the stories of survivors can be heard.
Adjaye Associates, Ron Arad Architects and Gustafson Porter + Bowman were selected to design the memorial in 2017. However, in November 2019 the plans were called in by the housing minister of the time, Esther McVey. Housing minister Christopher Pincher has now granted planning approval, following an inquiry and a report submitted by the planning inspector.
The government has committed £75m to the project, to be supplemented by £25m of charitable donations.
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick said: “This is an important moment for the whole country: today’s decision means that the national Holocaust Memorial and learning centre will be built in the heart of Westminster, right next to Parliament. The government will now move forward with the construction of the memorial, which will start later this year.”
