CITY of London clergy joined Rabbi Shalom Morris and members of Bevis Marks synagogue in Aldgate, last month, to deliver to the City of London Corporation a joint objection to a planning application.
They object that the proposed development would mean that the constructing was hemmed in by a 44-storey tower block that will take all its natural light and significantly restrict its worship.
The Grade I listed synagogue, accomplished in 1701, and the primary to be built after the resettlement of Jews in England, is the one non-Christian place of worship within the City of London, and is affiliated to the UK’s Spanish and Portuguese Jewish communities. It is lit by as much as 240 candles, supplemented by limited electric lighting, and is cherished as representing the historic connection between the Jewish community and Britain.
The development, Bury House, would, they are saying, directly prevent the Jewish community from reciting its prayers at the looks of the brand new moon, the Kiddush Levana, as this might now not be visible from the courtyard.
A previous application from the developers, Welput, was turned down by the planning committee in October 2021 (News, 3 September, 8 October 2021) after 1000 letters of objection. Welput got here back with a latest proposal that reduced the variety of storeys to 44. The lost floors could be added to the adjoining listed constructing, Holland House, which Welput bought with the stated intention of turning it into community space. Charities and other groups from outer London have been invited to make use of the space at no cost.
The letter presented by 16 Christian clergy says that the event in its current form doesn’t account for the harmful effect of an inappropriately tall and imposing constructing on this location. “In particular, the reasonable concerns of the Jewish community at Bevis Marks synagogue must be respected,” they are saying.
The development “would involve harm not only to the setting of a major and uniquely vital Grade One listed constructing and heritage site in town, but the event would actually constrain the Jewish community’s existing religious practice (by obscuring a particular portion of the sky) at Bevis Marks synagogue and subsequently directly impinge on the community’s current enjoyment of their religious freedom of worship in town.
“As Christian leaders of various communities within the City of London, we all know first-hand the worth which religious practice and the liberty of faith and belief has in a contemporary global city. There are diverse people of each faith and no faith who live, work and worship inside the Square Mile, adding latest chapters to the City of London’s history of toleration and civility.”
The Revd Josh Harris, Priest-in-Charge of St Katharine Cree, within the immediate vicinity of the synagogue, said: “City policy has now modified to permit tall buildings in conservation areas. It appears to be one thing after one other, which is partly why local churches have stepped in to support Rabbi Morris.
“We desired to stand with the the synagogue and to say that we do have really quite significant concerns in regards to the treatment of this particular community — and to do this at a time when it’s so vital to have good Jewish-Christian relationships, is a surprising moment.
“We have an entwined history for a lot of tons of of years with the unique synagogue, but, more importantly, we actually value our present relationship with them: we wanted to indicate up visibly and stand alongside them at this moment.”
The Rector of Great St Bartholomew, Smithfield, the Revd Marcus Walker, was a part of the deputation that walked to the Guildhall. He told the Church Times: “At a time when Jewish communities feel particularly in danger, it might be very unlucky for the City of London to make the oldest synagogue within the country functionally unusable by the Jewish community.”
He had met a lot of them at Bevis Marks, and had been particularly struck by a member of the congregation who told him that her grandson had just got married there: the tenth generation in succession to have done so. “This is the synagogue which has had the oldest continuous use on the earth, that hasn’t had a period of sustained disruption,” he said.
“You can understand why the developers have come back for a second go, but I hope it might be gently suggested to them that they need to look elsewhere.”
The public consultation closed on 15 May, and a choice is predicted in October. The clergy group’s request for a face-to-face meeting with the chair of the Planning and Transportation Committee has been accepted.
