Security fears and ballooning cost of London Holocaust memorial raised by MPs

The cost of the memorial, due to be built next to Parliament, has almost tripled
The Government has said a memorial to the Holocaust will be built in Victoria Tower Gardens
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Fears were raised by MPs on Friday that the cost of a Holocaust memorial due to be built next to Parliament have almost tripled.

The monument and learning centre in Victoria Tower Gardens will cost an estimated £137million, up from £50million when the plan was first announced in 2015.

MPs said that with a contingency fund, the project would need about £150million, "most of which is public money".

The Holocaust Memorial Bill Select Committee also expressed worries about terrorism risks and called on the Government to publish security proposals.

Committee chair Tory MP John Stevenson said: “The building of a Holocaust Memorial is an important and sensitive matter. Decision making on such an important national memorial should be clear and transparent.

“We have heard concerns over rising costs which the Government will have to take into consideration.

“A major memorial being built in central London will require security, and the Government needs to come forward with plans for what this will involve.”

Plans for the memorial and learning centre were confirmed as part of the Kings Speech last year in a move to tackle rising antisemitism in the wake of the Israel-Gaza war..

A promise the project would go ahead was first made in 2015, but the plan ran into difficulties due to a 1900 law protecting the land.

Planning permission was granted in July 2021 to build on Victoria Tower Gardens.

But it was challenged in the High Court by the London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust, which argued against building on the small triangular Grade II-listed park to the south of Parliament.

The Government's Bill intends to update the legislation to remove the legal obstacles and give permission to use public funding to build and operate the centre.