This project for a new public space commemorates the worst civilian disaster of World War II, when 173 men, women and children died on the staircase leading down to the tube station. Working with survivors and relatives, the Stairway to Heaven Memorial Trust has been set up as a charity in order to raise funds and realise the project. The project has won the support of the local community, press and politicians - both Mayor Johnson and two Prime Ministers have written letters in support. The proposal has been granted full planning permission and is supported by London Borough of Tower Hamlets council. The memorial takes its form from the stair void where people died and raises it up in commemoration. The stair is supported by a fine quality precast concrete plinth designed to optimise views into the park. The hollowed out stair powerfully evokes the volume of space in which people died and the ceiling of the stair canopy has 173 holes in it to represent, in light, the number of victims.