The Save Victoria Tower Gardens Campaign group has published a letter signed by more than 100 Jews opposing the government’s decision to approve a Holocaust memorial next to Parliament.

Signatories include philanthropist  Dame Vivien Duffield, Baroness Ruth Deech and former MP for West Dorset Oliver Letwin, as well as Holocaust survivors, educators and local residents. 

Nina Grunfeld, a member of the Save Victoria Tower Gardens Campaign group and a local resident, said they wanted to ensure “people know the Jewish community is divided on the government’s plan.” 

In a letter published in this week's JC, the signatories said it was “dismayed by the UK government's decision to approve construction of a Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens. This proposal is not being pursued in our name. We deplore the irreparable damage to a precious and historic park. We do not believe that what is proposed will be effective in combating antisemitism or in making us, as Jews and/or families of Holocaust victims and survivors, feel safer.”

They said they would “prefer the £100m budget to be invested in improving Holocaust education around the UK.”

Mrs Grunfeld, who is a local resident of the park said it was the "right idea in the wrong place" and called on the government to change its mind. 

“I don’t think we will be able to enjoy the park in the same way once it is built," she said. 

"The park is used by so many people, and we won’t be able to enjoy it as park if there is a memorial there.”

She said the issue was “splitting the Jewish community. It is divisive and is doing damage to the community. We have a refugee crisis and homelessness on our streets and i just don't think it is appropriate to be spending this amount of money on something for the Jewish people."

The decision to approve the plans came in the wake of a controversial public inquiry into the project, which was chaired by a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government planning inspector.

A number of senior Jewish figures questioned whether the memorial would serve its educational purpose while local residents expressed concerns that it would ruin Victoria Tower Gardens, where it will be located.