MOSQUE USERS "BLOCK STREET"

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Mosque users "block street"

A mosque which opened without permission is facing an investigation into its use and complaints about worshippers parking in the streets.

A former plumbing supplies store on the corner of Harewood Street, in Humberstone, has been used as a mosque for the past week.

Neighbours said the number of visitors' cars for evening prayers had made the narrow street impassable.

Leicester City Council has launched an investigation into the use as a mosque.

One resident of Harewood Street, who did not want to be named, said: "There are problems with parking and cars are being scratched."But the other big worry is that they could never get a fire engine into the road – you can't get a normal car through."

A 29-year-old woman who lives in the road, said: "The other night I found it impossible to get out of the street.

"The city council has closed part of Fernie Road and the parking was crazy at the top of Harewood Street.

"People are parking wherever – in the middle of the road, even."

The one-storey building was bought in June by members of Masjid At-Taqwa mosque on the other side of Harewood Street. The original mosque is now solely used for women.

Idris Waraich, 50, of the mosque's committee, said members of the community had raised £300,000 to buy the derelict building, which was being refurbished as a mosque and community centre.

He said: "We have wanted to extend the services we provide, including providing a place for prayer, social events, charitable work and education.

"Planning permission was granted to extend our original premises."Unfortunately, due to the need for a bigger venue – and the enthusiasm the new building has generated – events rather overtook us.

"The fact that all this has taken place during Ramadhan has made it difficult."

"We want to work much more closely with the council and wider community and will be submitting a formal planning application in the next two weeks."

The application will include a travel plan involving cycling and public transport for visitors, along with warning signs to deter parking in the street.

A spokesman for Leicester City Council said: "There isn't planning consent for it to be used in that way and, depending on the outcome of the investigation, we would have the power to serve an enforcement notice requiring those activities to cease."

Suleman Nagdi, spokesman of the Federation of Muslim Organisations, said: "This has happened in the past where people have identified a place, collected the money and purchased it, then applied to the local authority for permission.

"It's a problem in inner cities of finding suitable places of worship."The original mosque in Harewood Street is obviously not big enough."