Member

The current plan—I express my gratitude for the thoughtful presentation given by my noble friend Lord Vaux to the Select Committee on the Holocaust Memorial Bill—indicates that almost half the area of VTG will be needed for the full duration of the works programme, which could last for 30 years. Work is unlikely to start until 2029; the memorial may or may not be under construction then. The planning permission needed for restoration and renewal will be more difficult if a memorial is built or planned to be built. Nothing of the gardens will remain open, in effect, contrary to the 1900 LCC improvement Act, which prohibited building in VTG—the very Act the Government now propose to remove to make room for a memorial.