HISTORIC BUILDING IS SET TO BECOME PLACE OF WORSHIP

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Historic building is set to become place of worship 

By Dan Martin 

One of Leicester's landmark historic buildings has been bought by Hare Krishna devotees, who plan to turn it into a place of worship. 

The Victorian former bank, in Granby Street, in the city centre, has been acquired by the Leicester members of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). 

The group has been seeking a permanent base since its previous temple, in Thoresby Street, North Evington, Leicester, was destroyed by an explosion in September last year. 

Members have been worshipping in rented spaces since then, and said they were looking forward to moving into the 1870s-built, Grade II-listed property. 

The building has lain empty for three years since HSBC quit the premises, and has recently been added to English Heritage's list of significant buildings at risk of falling into disrepair. 

President of ISKCON, Pradyumna Das, said the building would be open to the public. 

He said: "This is a great opportunity for us to bring back into use a fantastic building right at the heart of the city. 

"As well as a focus on spirituality and self-realisation, we want to invite the people of our county to come and learn about the heritage of the place and celebrate its wonderful architecture." The society intends to restore the building to its former glory and bring it back into use as a place of worship with a range of community activities, eventually providing a restaurant, yoga and meditation studio, and self-development workshops. 

The amount paid for the property has not been revealed. 

But the purchase has been made possible thanks to the financial support of an unnamed family based in London and Leicester. 

A spokesman for the family said: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to offer not only a place of worship but also a place of spiritual learning for all the people of Leicester." 

ISKCON spokesman Pradip Gajjar said: "We are very excited, but it could be some time before we are able to move in." 

Stuart Bailey, chairman of Leicester Civic Society, has described the building as "an outstanding example of Victorian Gothic architecture – probably the finest in the city". 

He said of the purchase: "This is great news because there were fears the building would fall into disrepair. 

"There are already some problems with the roof and I imagine they will want to get in there quickly because the longer they leave it the more repairs they will have to make. 

"This building is a real stunner and when they built it, it was way ahead of its time. I think its massive banking hall will make a wonderful place of worship."