A proposed Holocaust memorial next to the United Kingdom Parliament is likely be rejected amid complaints from locals, and conservation and environmental groups.
The proposal includes a monument and education center in Victoria Tower Gardens, which sits next to the Palace of Westminster. The Westminster City Council said this week that “the application was heading towards an unfavorable recommendation.”
The announcement comes months after the government pledged about $28 million more to the project, which was first announced in 2015 by former Prime Minister David Cameron.
A group called Save Victoria Gardens petitioned why the memorial should not be built, citing reason such as the “atmosphere” on the park, as well as pollution and security, the Daily Mail reported.
Holocaust Educational Trust chief executive Karen Pollock said the memorial is “wholly appropriate” at a time of rising anti-Semitism across Europe, while Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl said Westminster Council’s rejection of the proposed memorial would be “a calamitous decision that would bring deep international shame on them.”
“At a time when anti-Semitic incidents are at an all-time high, rejecting this vital memorial to Holocaust victims would send entirely the wrong signal to society,” she said in a released statement. “We urge anyone thinking of objecting to this project of huge significance to our country, our community and the victims of the evil, Nazi genocide to think again.”
A Westminster City Council spokesperson confirmed that no decision has been made yet.