Proposals ruled to be in breach of a 1900 legal act protecting listed Victoria Tower Gardens

David Adjaye鈥檚 plans for a holocaust memorial outside Parliament have been quashed by the High Court.

Lawyers for the charity London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust successfully argued that the proposals were in breach of a 1900 legal act prohibiting the site from being used for anything other than a public garden.

The decision overturns the government鈥檚 approval for the scheme in July last year, a move which itself followed Westminster council鈥檚 rejection of the plans in 2019.

The 拢100m memorial would have occupied a significant portion of the listed Victoria Tower Gardens, which neighbours the Palace of Westminster on the banks of the Thames.

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The High Court decided the decision to OK the memorial was in breach of a 120-year-old ruling

The trust鈥檚 lawyer Richard Drabble QC said the plans did not comply with the 1900 legal act, which was upheld by high court judge Justice Thornton in a ruling today.

Thornton said the act 鈥渋mposes an enduring obligation鈥 to retain the land 鈥渁s a public garden and integral part of the existing Victoria Tower Gardens鈥.

She added: 鈥淎ccordingly, the appropriate remedy is to quash the decision, so as to enable further consideration of the implications of the London County Council (Improvements) Act 1900 for the proposed scheme.鈥

Government lawyers argued that there was 鈥渘o error of law鈥 in process to overturn Westminster council鈥檚 refusal.

The trust said in February that the planning permission was 鈥渇lawed鈥 and described the scheme as the 鈥渞ight idea, wrong place鈥.

Due to open in 2024, the memorial was intended to be a focus of national remembrance for the six million victims of the holocaust during the Second World War.

Adjaye鈥檚 proposals consisted of 23 large bronze fins leading into an underground learning centre.

Designed with Ron Arad, the firm won a competition in 2017 beating entrants including John McAslan, Foster & Partners, Studio Libeskind and Zaha Hadid Architects.