Member

I express my gratitude to the noble Lord, Lord Fox, who gave evidence to the Select Committee on the Holocaust Memorial Bill. The current plan for R&R indicates that almost half the area of the gardens will be needed for the full duration of R&R, which could last for 30 years. Work is unlikely to start until 2029. The memorial may or may not be under construction by then. The planning permission needed for R&R will be more difficult if a Holocaust memorial is built or planned to be built, because none of the gardens will remain open, contrary to the London County Council (Improvements) Act 1900. This prohibits building in Victoria Tower Gardens—the very act under discussion tonight. If a memorial is built, there will still be an obligation under the 1900 Act to keep the rest of the gardens open to the public. It is impossible to see how that can be achieved.