Victoria Tower Gardens is under threat

PLEASE HELP US STOP THE DESECRATION OF ONE OF LONDON'S MOST EXCEPTIONAL PARKS! 

Four years on, WE ARE NOW  desperately  FUNDRAISING TO FIGHT A JUDICIAL REVIEW AND A PUBLIC INQUIRY  - and NEED YOUR HELP MORE THAN EVER!!!!!

EVERY PENNY COUNTS.  Please donate ANY AMOUNT YOU CAN AFFORD to:

https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/save-victoria-tower-gardens/

DO NOT DONATE VIA CHANGE.ORG AS THE MONEY GOES TO THEM AND NOT TO US!!!!!!!!!!

WESTMINSTER COUNCIL HAS NOW DETERMINED THAT THIS GRADE 2 LISTED PARK IS NOT AN APPROPRIATE SITE  FOR BUILDING AN ENORMOUS HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL AND UNDERGROUND LEARNING CENTRE. 

Outrageously, the Secretary of State has 'called in' this application in order to determine it himself. We know that the Government is hell-bent on approving the scheme;  without your financial help we do not stand a chance of winning, as we need the best possible legal advice in a battle that makes David and  Goliath seem like a piece of cake! 

This unique tree-lined London park, running along an unspoilt stretch of the Thames between the Houses of Parliament and Lambeth Bridge, has been offered by the Government as a potential site for the proposed, publicly-funded, UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.  

A high-profile design competition was launched in 2016.  Ten international practices  produced designs for a ‘striking’ and ‘truly iconic’ Holocaust Memorial and a very large underground Learning Centre, both to be built in the park.

The Save Victoria Tower Gardens Campaign believes that this park is the wrong site for ANY BUILDING.  London's precious parks should indeed be preserved at all costs as untouched areas of greenery, to be enjoyed as such by the thousands of people who work or live nearby or who come as visitors.  

While the competition brief clearly stated that the new Memorial was expected to attract one million visitors per year, we are now told that the figures are 3 million visitors per year.  An influx of people of this magnitude will change this quiet park into a totally different type of place, transforming it into a ‘civic space’ with all the attributes needed to manage large groups of people.

As for the Learning Centre, while the brief specifies that it should be located underground, this will not prevent it from completely altering the appearance of the park. Extended paving areas will replace large areas of grass.  There will also be a need for extensive signage and security.   

All this distracting paraphernalia will kill once and for all the poignant simplicity of this park, whose character depends on the uninterrupted sweep of grass between the rows of magnificent plane trees.  The trees themselves are greatly at risk, should the excavations take place for the underground gallery.

This park is greatly used by many local families and children, as most homes in the area do not have access to green public spaces.  Office workers and visitors are also in the park every day, enjoying its calm atmosphere and wonderful views.

Please help us stop Victoria Tower Gardens becoming the latest sacrificial site offered up by the Government to a purpose in conflict with the unique intrinsic nature of its context.  

London needs to preserve its historic assets: future generations will condemn us for our legacy of bad decisions and for the squandering of so many of the city's treasures.

Policy is on our side: Victoria Tower Gardens, a Grade 2* park, partly within the UNESCO World Heritage Site, also falls within the Westminster Council Monument Saturation Zone, in recognition that this corner of London is over-provided with civic memorials of all types.  

The Save Victoria Tower Gardens Campaign is of course not opposed in any way to the creation of a Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre. It simply says that Victoria Tower Gardens is the wrong place for it. 

There are many possible alternatives that should be considered, whether in SW1 or at the Imperial War Museum, the home of already excellent  Holocaust Galleries.  Victoria Tower Gardens as a location for the Memorial and Learning Centre was never debated, and is opposed by Royal Parks, Historic England, ICOMOS (advisors to UNESCO), the Environment Agency and thousands of individuals ....

We very much hope you can support us by DONATING whatever you can to 

https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/save-victoria-tower-gardens/

DO NOT DONATE VIA CHANGE.ORG AS THE MONEY GOES TO THEM AND NOT TO US!!!!!!!!!!

 We need your help!  Many thanks