Victoria Tower Gardens update – 26 April 2024
Today the Holocaust Memorial Bill Select Committee has published its Special Report on the Holocaust Memorial Bill.
Under its very limited remit, the Committee was not empowered to comment on whether a Memorial and Learning Centre should be built in Victoria Tower Gardens, but the report is highly critical of the Government's approach, and draws attention to numerous areas of concern regarding the proposals to build on this precious green space.
Lucy Peck, for the Thorney Island Society, noted: “We are grateful to the Holocaust Memorial Bill Select Committee for hearing our petition so carefully and endorsing our concerns. The Government still refuses any discussion of alternatives, or of meaningful undertakings in relation to our concerns, so we will continue to oppose the project as currently proposed.”
For more details, please see the full press release issued by London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust, and the Save Victoria Tower Gardens website.
Spring/Summer 2024 Newsletter
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Victoria Tower Gardens update – 24 January 2024
The Committee examining the Holocaust Memorial Bill has had its first sessions, and we are now about halfway through the Committee hearings, with The London Gardens Trust speaking this morning and Ruth Deech and a distinguished group of Holocaust survivors and historians this afternoon.
The Thorney Island Society will be presenting our case on the afternoon of Tuesday 6 February.
All sessions can be watched through parliamentlive.tv, using this direct link. On the day of a session, or after it has finished, click on the session and then on “Watch the meeting”. (Prior to the meeting itself you have the option to click “Add to calendar” as a reminder.)
Habemus Chair!
Meet our Acting Chair
We are pleased to introduce Glenn Murphy, who takes up his new role as Acting Chair this month.
We have been in search of a new Chair for around a year, since Sue Ball stood down, and we are delighted to have found someone as well-qualified and enthusiastic as Glenn.
As members will know, chairing The Thorney Island Society is a very active role, with significant involvement in local forums, liaison with councillors, participation in the events of the Society and, of course, ensuring good governance and oversight of the Committee. We are grateful to Glenn for volunteering his time and experience to support the Society to this extent. We look forward to working with him, and are excited to see what new ideas this change of leadership may bring.
Glenn is vice-chair of the Victoria Neighbourhood Forum, where he is leading on the establishment of a designated Neighbourhood Plan for the area. This role is very complementary to his position as Acting Chair of The Thorney Island Society.
Glenn is also chair of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments Wealth Management grouping. He is an experienced financial services and technology executive, with over 20 years of leadership experience. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer for Stonehage Fleming, Multrees and held other lead roles for Schroders, Cazenove Capital, London & Capital and Rathbones.
An active member of the Chartered Institute of Securities & Investments and CFA UK, Glenn also holds a Bachelor of Science degree, having studied Applied Physics.
Glenn regularly attends and speaks at industry events, panels and has written over 30 articles on the areas of innovation in wealth & investment management. Outside industry, Glenn is Fellow of the Association for Coaching and an active member of Mensa.
Last, but not least, Glenn is a Thorney Island resident.
Autumn/Winter 2023 Newsletter
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Victoria Tower Gardens
Update August 2023
The Holocaust Memorial Bill is making its way through Parliament. It seeks to dis-apply the clauses in an Act of 1900 that said that Victoria Tower Gardens should be maintained as a garden open to the public. The Government tried to introduce the Holocaust Memorial Bill as a Public Bill but the Clerks and Committees in both Houses agreed with us that it is a Hybrid Bill, making it more difficult for them to get it through the parliamentary process. Meanwhile disquiet is being expressed publicly by a wide range of people, especially following the closure of the Jewish Museum in Camden, which had run out of funds. Why should the Holocaust Memorial Learning Centre not be combined with the Jewish Museum in new premises? It seems a very good idea, but the site would have to be more suitable than VTG.
For further reading, please go to the campaign website: CLICK HERE
Lambeth Bridge Safety and Security Project
Transport for London recently announced that they were proceeding with plans to improve safety on Lambeth Bridge. The plans include replacing the existing roundabouts on the Westminster and Lambeth sides of the bridge with signal-controlled junctions. These changes are intended to provide:
- Safer signal-controlled pedestrian crossings
- Safer connections for cyclists to existing cycle routes, such as Cycleway 8 on Millbank
- Public realm improvements, including the removal of the existing palm tree in the Millbank roundabout to a site in Churchill Gardens and the introduction of two new palms in extended footways next to the obelisks on the Westminster side of the bridge, as illustrated here:
TfL consulted on the scheme in 2017 and, following analysis of the consultation responses and further investigations, published a final design and consultation report in February 2020. This information can be found at tfl.gov.uk/Lambeth-Bridge-North.
TfL are planning to start the works in spring 2024. A public consultation was held on 18th July 2023.
Lambeth Bridge Safety and Security Project - Consultation Tues 18th July 2023
Spring/Summer 2023 Newsletter
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Whitehall - New Public Spaces Development Proposals
The Whitehall BID are pleased to share their proposals for the area. As well as improving the physical realm, a 'hidden gems' tour will be available with Augmented Reality and interactive maps to navigate and learn the history of the area, including the route of the former River Tyburn and the Whitehall Palace Footprint.
New research into the 'Letter Purse' in our Archives collection
Following fundraising amongst our Membership and the purse's expert restoration in 2018, the story of our beautiful object continues:
We were delighted when Marie-Louise Plum, a painter and mudlarker with a keen interest in history and creative activities came to explore our Archives in Old Pye Street. We were even more delighted when she set about identifying many of the artefacts in our collection the provenance of which was unknown.
She was particularly taken by the Georgian letter purse and we are delighted to share with you her video of the research findings. This will be the first in a new series The Letter Purse Profiles.
We look forward to Marie-Louise's next visit to the Archives to find out more about this and other artefacts using the histories of local streets in our files. This is a perfect use of our Archives and we can't wait to see what else she uncovers.