Plans for £25million Holocaust memorial outside Parliament set to be REJECTED by planners following complaints it could spoil the view

A £25MILLION Holocaust memorial outside Parliament is set to be rejected by planners following complaints it could spoil the view.

The monument and education centre in Victoria Gardens, next to the Palace of Westminster, has been slammed by residents and heritage groups since plans were unveiled in 2015.

Now Westminster City Council has revealed “the application was heading towards an unfavourable recommendation”, the Times reports.

The memorial was designed Sir David Adjaye, a British-Ghanaian architect, and Ron Arad, a British-Israeli sculptor.

'UNFAVOURABLE RECCOMENDATION'

Plans were announced by David Cameron with Theresa May later pledging £25m towards the site.

The idea was backed by a host of former PMs including Sir John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Cameron.

But not all were pleased about the memorial with residents complaining it would be an eye sore in the historic area.

A Save Victoria Gardens campaign group was set up and said the "atmosphere" of the park would be damaged as well as there being pollution from visitors and security risks.

Given this range of issues, it was advised that the application was heading towards an unfavourable recommendation.

Westminster City Council leader Nickie Aiken clashed with Lord Pickles and Ed Balls, co-chairs of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation, for criticising council officers for their handling of the project.

She fumed: “Given this range of issues, it was advised that the application was heading towards an unfavourable recommendation.

“It is difficult to see how your advisors were able to give you the impression that it was the number of objections was the primary concern, given the breadth of the other matters discussed."

MEMORIAL IS 'VITAL'

The setback for the memorial plans come after a report revealed that Labour's anti-Semitism scandal led to a record number of hate incidents in the first half of the year.

Reports included racist graffiti left at the home of Holocaust survivors, "Gas the Jews" written on a footbridge in Liverpool and 85 violent assaults.

Jeremy Corbyn's leadership has been dogged by an ongoing row over anti-Semitism among activists and officials.

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.

It culminated in Scotland Yard launching a criminal investigation into alleged hate crimes – and seven MPs quitting in protest at the failure to tackle the problem.

Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies, Britain’s Jewish organisation, said the Holocaust memorial was vital to society.

She explained: “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.

"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."

Westminster City Council said “no decision” had been formally made on the monument so far.

A spokesperson added: “The Leader of the Council, Cllr Nickie Aiken, has responded to the concerns raised in the letter and made very clear that this application, like all that come before the authority, will be made on planning grounds after careful assessment of all the representations received.”

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