Council rejects plans to alter tube entrance to protect Cohanim

Artist's impression of South Kensington tube entrance now and (right) with Cohen-friendly arch[Missing Credit]

The application had been submitted by the Va’ad Mishmeres Hakohanim, an organisation which works to protect the ritual purity of Cohanim, after a year of discussions with the council.

An estimated 1,500 families would benefit from the structure, according to the application.

But councillors were swayed by objections from residents and nearby organisations, including Imperial College.

A representative of the Knightsbridge Association told councillors that the structure would be “unsympathetic and alien”.

But speaking in support of the proposal, a senior member of the rabbinate of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, Dayan Aharon Dovid Dunner, said that there had been precedents for alterations to buildings to help the Orthodox community. “Many hospitals have adjusted for us because there are some corpses there,” he said.

A spokesman for the Va’ad told the JC it was “continuing its efforts to obtain planning permission”.

He added: “If the application is successful, the funding for the project will not be from public funds.”