The Hon. Mrs Justice Thornton : Introduction 1. This is a claim for statutory review, pursuant to s. 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, of the decision by the Minister of State for Housing to grant planning permission for the installation of the United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre at Victoria Tower Gardens in Millbank, London. 2. The proposal for a UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre (‘the Holocaust Memorial’) was first announced in January 2015 in the Holocaust Commission’s Report, ‘Britain’s Promise to Remember’: “there should be a striking new memorial to serve as the focal point for national commemoration of the Holocaust. It should be prominently located in Central London to attract the largest possible number of visitors and to make a bold statement about the importance Britain places on preserving the memory of the Holocaust.” 3. All parties before the Court support the principle of a compelling memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and all those persecuted by the Nazis during those years when, “humanity was tipped into the abyss of evil and depravity”. The memorial is an essential part of “Britain’s Promise to Remember” (Holocaust Commission Report). The Trust explained to the Court that many of its supporters are Jewish people whose families were either forced to flee the Holocaust or who perished in it. 4. The issue dividing the parties is the proposed location of the Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens. Victoria Tower Gardens has considerable cultural, historical and heritage significance. It is located on the north bank of the River Thames immediately south of and adjacent to the Palace of Westminster and Black Rod Garden. It is a Grade II Registered Park and Garden. It contains within it three listed structures; the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst (Grade II listed), the statue of the Burghers of Calais (Grade I listed) and the Buxton Memorial Fountain (Grade II* listed). The site has contained a garden for public recreation since approximately 1880. 5. It is important to emphasise that the merits of the Memorial’s proposed location in Victoria Tower Gardens are not a matter for the Court. Its location there may raise matters of legitimate public debate, but they are not matters for the Court to determine. The role of the Court in judicial review is concerned with resolving questions of law and ensuring that public bodies act within the limits of their legal powers. 6. The three issues that arise for consideration by the Court in this challenge are: 1) Did the inspector err in his assessment of harm to the historic environment of the Gardens; in particular the setting of the Buxton Memorial? 3