and Country Planning Act 1990. Given the Secretary of State was the applicant for
planning permission handling arrangements were put in place at the Government
Legal Department and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
(as renamed since the decision under challenge) to ensure there was, and is, a
functional separation between the persons bringing forward the proposal and the
persons responsible for determining the proposal. Following a successful legal
challenge by the Trust to the decision making arrangements the arrangements were
revised and published (London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust v the Secretary of
State for Housing Communities and Local Government [2020] EWHC 2580
(Admin)).
The Planning inquiry
19. A public inquiry was held into the application by an Inspector appointed by the
Minister for Housing between 6 – 23 October 2020 and 3 – 13 November 2020.
20. The Trust appeared at the inquiry and was formally represented. Whilst supporting the
principle of the Memorial, the Trust, and other parties with whom they made common
cause, opposed its location in Victoria Tower Gardens on the basis that it represents
an exceptionally serious intrusion into a green public open space of the highest
heritage significance. The Trust called expert evidence on harm to heritage assets;
harm to the character, amenity and significance of Victoria Tower Gardens as a
Registered Park and Garden; harm to the mature trees surrounding the park as well as
on the availability of an alternative site for the memorial at the Imperial War
Museum.
21. Westminster City Council appeared as the local planning authority. Whilst supportive
of the principle of the memorial, it opposed its location in the Gardens on the basis of
the sensitivities of the location and the impact on the historic environment and the risk
of impact to the established trees on the west side of the Gardens. The Council
considered that the Gardens might be a suitable location for a more modestly sized
scheme.
22. Learning from the Righteous appeared in support of the application and was formally
represented at the inquiry. It supported the location of the Memorial in Victoria Tower
Gardens.
The Planning Inspector’s Report
23. The Inspector’s report to the Minister of State for Housing, dated 29 April 2021, is
243 pages long, with 60 pages of analysis. The Inspector identified the main
considerations as including:
a) The effect of the proposal on designated and non-designated heritage assets,
including of specific relevance to the challenge; whether the proposed
development would preserve the setting of the Buxton Memorial, a Grade II*
listed building;
6