By, Josh Jackman
1 min read
ByJosh Jackman, Josh Jackman
With eruv proposals often likely to encounter local opposition, Daniel Rosenfelder is a good man to have in your corner.
The boss of architects Rosenfelder Associates has become an expert in eruv plans that satisfy both councils and concerned residents, and is involved in "nearly all the ones in London", which he puts at 12 or 13.
He added: "The Belmont extension linking it to Stanmore is being put up as we speak and the application for a Highgate and Muswell Hill eruv will be submitted in a month or two."
If all his plans are approved, "you will be able to go from Regents Park up to the north of Stanmore and the start of the green belt with one contiguous eruv.
"I'm absolutely confident. I can't afford the luxury of pessimism We have statutory support for it in the Equality Act."
After registering the north Westminster eruv with the three boroughs it aims to cover, Mr Rosenfelder was warned of potentially "vociferous" opposition in Westminster.
It was "a very sensitive eruv", he conceded. Yet out of 983 comments submitted during the council's public consultation, 615 were supportive.
"We are mindful of local concerns," he explained. "They're the usual ones. People always say it will destroy social cohesion.
"That has time and again been shown to not be the case. The public perception once an eruv is erected is that it is imperceptible."
Not that successes were trumpeted. "We feel publicity beyond what we have to do is not helpful and best avoided," Mr Rosenfelder added. "Publicity only generates opposition from outside and within the community, often based on false premises and assumptions and unfounded fears.
"We tend to rely on planning policies and statutory Acts of Parliament, which are supportive."
Mr Rosenfelder lives in Camden, where the eruv proposal is at consultation stage. He does not charge for his eruv work, expressing pride at being "involved with a community-wide project. I've done a lot of housing, schools, care homes and Shabbat lifts within the community but this is very satisfying."