Plans for new ‘religious’ entrance at South Kensington station turned down

By Adrian Zorzut, Local Democracy Reporter

A London council has voted against plans for a new tube entrance at South Kensington Station that would have been used for religious purposes.

The proposed archway to the Science Museum’s Tube entrance on Exhibition Road would have been used by a group of Orthodox Jews whose strict religious beliefs do not allow them to enter the existing entrance because it is part of the museum, which holds human remains in its collection.

Franceso Brenta from the Knightsbridge Association, which represents residents and businesses in the area, said the proposed black structure was “unsympathetic and alien” to the Grade II listed building.

He expressed concern about the 1.2m archway’s impact on pedestrian flow and the wording of a sign to accompany it, which he said contained a warning of “negative spiritual forces”.

Mr Brenta said accommodating the needs of small religious sects like the Kohanim community would set an “unfortunate precedent” for other faiths to demand changes to the public infrastructure.

A member from the applicant’s team said the wording of the sign had been agreed with the council but that it could easily be changed.

He said the current entrance had “divided” the Orthodox community between those allowed to access the entrance and those who are not.

He explained that certain members, known as “Kohens”, were forbidden from using the entrance because of corpses above in the Science Museum, and stopped them from meeting with the wider community in public places.

Councillors were concerned about plans to drill into the troughs of the stonework and whether the black structure would be seen by pedestrians at night.

The plans were meant to be discussed during a planning meeting in June but were pulled at the last moment.

According to council documents, the metallic archway would create a symbolic secondary roof that would allow the Kohanim community to use South Kensington Station and to access the wider underground network.

The proposed archway consisted of slim metal fins painted black and a worded sign set out from the wall of the entrance.

Evidence sent to the committee by a planning agent on behalf of the Stamford Hill-based Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations explained the Kohanim — descendants of the sons of Aaron who served as priests in the temple in Jerusalem — have “special rules and guidelines on how to behave”.

He said: “One of them is not to come in any shape or form in contact with a deceased person, exceptions are made for immediate family.

The changes to the entrance, between the museum and Imperial College London, were objected to by the college and the wider Exhibition Road Cultural Group whose members include nearby museums such as the V&A, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum.

The group said the entrance was “used by millions of people visiting the museums, Royal Albert Hall, educational institutions, and by people living and working in the area” and said more information was needed about the plan.

Pictured top: The entrance that had been the proposed site of a new black archway at South Kensington station and a CGI of how it would look (Picture: Google Street View/Sam Planning Services)