Jewish prayer practised at London synagogue for hundreds of years may be impacted by proposed tower

An important Jewish ritual practised at Bevis Marks Synagogue in the City of London for hundreds of years may be significantly curtailed if a proposed tower block is approved. Kiddush Levana, Hebrew for Sanctification of the Moon, is a prayer recited by Jewish people during the first part of the lunar cycle.

It is performed while standing outside, and requires sight of the silvery celestial body in the night sky. Records indicate Kiddush Levana has been practised at Bevis Marks, the UK's oldest continuously serving synagogue, since 1701, and by the local community since the 1600s.

Rabbi Shalom Morris of Bevis Marks has warned a proposed 43-storey office block by the synagogue on Bury Street may reduce the ability of worshippers to recite the prayer by three to five months a year. In a document filed in response to the Bury Street application, he added this would equate to a drop in the times the community can worship of up to 60 per cent.

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A spokesperson for Welput, the developer behind the submission, said the project is designed to 'maximise public benefits by considering the future use of the entire site'.

They added: "This approach, focused on public benefit, is guided by a profound respect for the historic, heritage and cultural importance of the area around this site and we have developed our proposal with this context in mind."

A previous 48-storey application for the Bury Street site was rejected by the City of London Corporation in 2021. Welput submitted a fresh application earlier this year, reducing the height of the proposed block and adding a partial redevelopment of the Grade-II* listed Holland House.

Welput says this will result in the reopening of Holland House for the first time in more than 100 years. A range of landscaping works and new community workspace are also included in the plans.

The application has however drawn reams of objections on the City of London's planning portal. At the time of writing a total of 1,439 public comments had been submitted, 1,357 of which object to the scheme.

In one of the most recent objections, Historic England, the Government's heritage body, wrote the current application is worse than the 2021 scheme due to its impact on the Tower of London and Holland House.

'Significant harm'

A representation filed by the S&P Sephardi Community dated November 15 includes a report by Rabbi Shalom Morris of Bevis Marks on the impact of the proposed tower on Kiddush Levana. The paper was compiled in response to an investigation on the ritual firstly by GIA Surveyors on behalf of the applicant and then BRE Group for the City.

In GIA's Lunar Transit Study, submitted in October, the company reported it is already not possible to view the moon over several months per year. GIA wrote: "The opportunities of gazing at the moon are only in the order of 4-5% of the coverage of the lunar bracelet throughout the 18.6 years of lunar cycle, in the existing baseline and without considering cloud cover.

"This study also confirms that despite the presence of the consented and proposed buildings, it will be possible to view the passage of the moon, and the charts provided will help identify when and where in the sky."

BRE reviewed GIA's findings for the City of London Corporation and published its own report earlier this month. In its conclusion, BRE wrote that based on the results from the GIA study, 'it can be concluded that although currently there is a reduced overall opportunity to view the moon from the Synagogue courtyard due to obstructing effects from the existing surrounding buildings, the relative reduction in the hourly visibility of the lunar bracelet from the Synagogue courtyard would be significant with the proposed development in place'.

Rabbi Morris similarly found the proposed tower would result in a 'quantifiable' reduction in the community's ability to worship. He challenged GIA's conclusions, writing that the data showed the application would result in a reduction of opportunities to recite the prayer by three to five months a year, a drop of 30 to 50 per cent and perhaps even up to 60 per cent.

"It is clear then that the proposed tower would cause significant harm to the historic community of Bevis Marks Synagogue," Rabbi Morris wrote. "The proposed tower would undermine its centuries-long history of worship on this site, and their ability to maintain their unique Spanish & Portuguese Jewish traditions."

'Sincere respect'

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Rabbi Morris asked whether the BRE's findings would mean the application be recommended to be refused by Members.

"Our community's primary objective is to preserve the City's last bastion of Jewish life, at Grade-I listed Bevis Marks Synagogue, where Jewish life in the City began over three hundred years ago. This is a strategic and moral objective that the City should share, but this proposal shamefully places the synagogue's continuing functioning at existential risk."

A spokesperson for Welput said the application is focused on public benefit and guided by respect for the historic, heritage and cultural importance of the area.

In response to a request for comment, the spokesperson said the company's 'appreciation for the context' can be seen in a range of benefits designed into the project, such as its 'significant' investment in restoration, reopening Holland House for the first time in more than 100 years, re-establishing James' Court pocket park and Heneage Lane, and a social strategy developed following consultation with 144 not-for-profits, providing new community and creative spaces among other works.

They said: "Our sincere respect for the historical significance of the site has equally informed our revised approach to our development plan, where we have meaningfully reduced the height of Bury House and massing through a stepped articulation to the upper floors of the building. Our application is supported by detailed heritage assessments confirming the proposed restoration works to Holland House are acceptable and will provide significant benefits, delivering a highly sustainable listed building for the next 100+ years.

"Welput is sensitive to the concerns raised by Bevis Marks Synagogue and has commissioned many detailed reports throughout the consultation process to inform our application. This includes a Lunar Transit Study, which concluded that visibility of the moon's passage over Bevis Marks Synagogue is already low but that it will remain possible to view the passage of the moon with the development of 31 Bury Street.

"It is our abiding commitment to maintaining an open and cooperative dialogue with all community stakeholders, including the Bevis Marks Synagogue, and to continue exploring constructive solutions that bring this exciting, community-driven project to fruition."

The City last year designated the locality in which Bevis Marks sits a Conservation Area which is intended to offer greater protection for local heritage sites.

A number of high-profile names have spoken against Welput's application since it was filed. In May, the UK's Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, appealed directly to the former Lord Mayor to prevent the application being approved.

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