Adjaye’s Holocaust Memorial costs hit £139m as budget rises again

According to the government's own accounting officers, the programme costs for the controversial scheme in the Grade II-listed Victoria Square Gardens in London have ‘risen significantly’ due to delays in securing planning permission caused by legal challenges and ‘inflationary pressures’.

A report published last July by the National Audit Office (NAO) revealed the cost of the scheme next to the Palace of Westminster had already increased to £103 million from the £89 million budget set out in the April 2019 outline business case.

At the time, the NAO also warned that ‘emerging risks and uncertainties’ meant more hikes in the project's pricetag were likely for its backer, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

The budget for the landmark project to create ‘a fitting national memorial to the six million murdered Jewish men, women and children and other groups who became victims of Nazi persecution’ has now almost tripled from the original £50 million – although the initial competition-winning scheme was significantly smaller than what is now proposed.

The latest accounting officer’s report claims that, despite the ballooning budget, the project continued to represent value for money to the public purse. The revised accounting officer assessment reads: ‘It has been assessed that the strategic and societal benefits of having a prominent national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and a learning centre, which will provide important educational offerings, ensure the programme is still value for money.’

The report says that while the estimated opening dates ‘have always been tentative further delays may still attract criticism as there will be a diminishing number of Holocaust survivors to see the opening’.

It adds: ‘Any significant delay during construction is likely to impact the opening date and costs. Key risks to this are significant archaeological finds, and material and labour shortages. There are also risks of delays in establishing an operating body for [the memorial and learning centre] and contingency plans are being put in place to mitigate these.’

Last year, the NAO reported that both Adjaye and Arad, who jointly won the competition to design the memorial in 2017, had been stood down by the department ‘to try to save money’. The accounting officer's latest report added that the construction cost managers had changed, which had also partly led to the recalculation of the budget.

 

While the government has spent more than £15 million on the project to date, it has yet to receive the necessary go-ahead to proceed with construction.

Earlier this year, ministers introduced the Holocaust Memorial Bill in January to overturn a 128-year-old piece of legislation banning the construction of any new buildings in Victoria Tower Gardens on the banks of the Thames.

The London Parks and Gardens Trust was among the campaign groups that mounted a legal challenge, arguing that the inspector had not taken into account the London County Council (Improvements) Act 1900, which prohibits building on the gardens. The High Court ruled in the campaigners’ favour in April 2022.

The AJ has contacted Adjaye Associates and Ron Arad for comment.