Plans for contested development near Britain's oldest synagogue withdrawn

The rabbi of Britain’s oldest synagogue, Bevis Marks, has thanked supporters after the withdrawal of plans for a 21-storey development nearby which have been contested by the congregation.

Rabbi Shalom Morris told members of the S & P Sephardi Community on Friday, “This ill-conceived tower, just metres from the eastern windows of Bevis Marks Synagogue, would have blocked light to our historic synagogue throughout the entirety of the morning hours.”

An application had been put in to develop offices and retail space at 33 Creechurch Lane.

Seven months ago City of London’s planning committee rejected a proposal for an even taller, commercial development in Bury Stree close to the Grade 1-listed synagogue. That would have “blocked out nearly all of the sunlight into the synagogue and courtyard in the early afternoon,” Rabbi Morris said.

“The significance of these achievements should not be understated, and we thank all of you who wrote in letters of objections, including members of our community, heritage organisations, and friends of our community from all over the UK and the world.”

But he warned, “Unfortunately, we know that landowners will surely submit new applications in the not too distant future.

“The currently flawed application process means that we are subject to the whims of developers and forced to invest significant funds to defend ourselves each time. The question now is will the City of London finally do something to ensure that this process does not repeat itself?”

Until that question was answered, he said, “we remain vigilant and at the ready to defend our treasure of UK Jewry”.

A new education centre is due to open at the synagogue later this year which, it is hoped, will increase the number of visitors to the site. It will tell the story of the synagogue, which opened in 1701, and also enable it to showcase some of its artefacts which have not been on display before.

Around £7 million has been raised for restoration and the development of the new centre, with £2.8 million from the National Heritage Lottery Fund and nearly £500,000 from the government’s Cultural Recovery Front. The remainder was raised from private sources through an appeal with Prince Charles as its patron.

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