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Faith is put in new £7m centre
Reporter: by marina berry
Date online: 30 July 2010
A £7million multi-faith community centre could be built in Oldham, if planners give it the green light.
The national charity, UK Islamic Mission (UKIM) has submitted an ambitious design to Oldham Council to convert the derelict Werneth House in Manchester Road, Oldham.
The former Sun Alliance Insurance building was bought by the organisation for just under £4million, and it has spent more than £100,000 preparing the plans.
If it is successful, a further £3million will be spent on turning it into a flagship building, open to people of all faiths.
Several open days will take place at Werneth House starting next week as part of a consultation exercise, and UKIM expects to hear if it can go ahead with the plans by early October.
Project director Abdul Hamid Qureshi said the ambitious plans would see a facility 20 years ahead of its time established in Oldham.
He described it as “unique,” and said the organisation behind it wanted it to be “a flourishing and self-sustaining, vibrant business and community centre.” It will house a restaurant, gym, education centre, book and clothes shops, a welfare service and offices.
It will offer courses to develop leadership for gap year students, and promote peace building and interfaith activity.
Mr Qureshi explained: “It will offer proper, professional training to prepare imams to deliver education in mosques, but no activity will be exclusive to Muslims.
“It will provide a nurturing environment, people will be taught to work hard and gain skills, and it will be open to everyone in the community, whether they are Muslim or not.”
If given the go ahead, the development will bring 70 full and part time jobs to Werneth in a building which has been on the market for four years.
Mr Qureshi said it had began to deteriorate and residents had been complaining about the grounds being used for anti-social behaviour and drug-taking.
Plans for the community centre include a hall for seminars, weddings and other family and community functions, as well as education and business uses.
Courses will be run in partnership with universities, concentrating on areas such as peace, understanding societies, and interfaith studies.
And it will join with partners to offer a mentoring programme to nurture tomorrow’s business, political, education, faith and community leaders.
It will have a prayer space and a designated multi-faith area, in what UKIM believes could be the only initiative of its kind in the country.
The organisation already has 35 mosques across the nation, 6,000 children in education, 70 imams and 100 part-time teachers.
Open days will run on Tuesday (1-5pm), Wednesday (10am-2pm), August 17 (11am-2pm) and August 18 (3-7pm)
Anyone interested is urged to go and find out more about the plans and give their views.
People who want to visit outside those dates can contact Mr Qureshi on 07931762283 or email ahamidq@gmail.com
Comments
Correct me if I`m wrong but isnt there already an Islamic Place being built just up the road from this site, opposite the bottom of Werneth Park?
How many other faiths will use it in a highly Asian populated area.I expect it will go through,Just 1 question where does the money come from?
I think you will find out that a lot of money comes from saudi oil revenues, like every time you fill up you donate. There is also the NHS well the doctors who donate a lot as well. But you have to ask the question why the council is giving its permission when all multi faith projects of this kind have never been checked by the authorities and fail to meet the multi bit……..
This a location zoned for employment uses. The Planning Officers should recommend refusal.
Glad I moved away from Oldham. What's it going to be like in 10 years ??
The site is in PEZ8. Having just checked OMBC UDP policies B2.1 on Primasry Employment Zones, I do not see the which of the criteria it fits for the professional planners to recommend approval.
There is already the OBA centre on Featherstall Rd. There is a mosque being built almost across the road from the OBA and then there is the mill on Featherstall Rd that is going to be converted to a huge Muslim community facility. Claiming this will be a multi faith centre is totally disingenuous and a front to try and get it through. A check with the land Registry shows that the claim of £4m to buy the site is completely false.
Wonder why it's a mobile number and private email address??
A cursory glance at the Charity Commission website further shows the claim of £4m spent to be false.
This charity also relies entirely on voluntary contributions, and miraculously it spends absolutely no money on fund raising activities.
To me that says it is a privately funded charity being used as a front for Islamic expansion.
Strangely there is a similarly named charity that has exactly the same objectives.
Oldham Council should scrutinise this whole thing extremely carefully.
Well its looks like prodriver is on the button, a lot of these so called charity orgs take money in from other countries with the same intent, it would appear that it’s not against the law. Just look at all the mosques again built mainly with foreign money. It’s about time the gov looked into this Trojan act...
@prodriver According to my research UKIM come to the chron's office asking donations from you did they? Why moan and whinge???
This is set to be a mosque and Islamic centre, other local faith leaders have not been aproached(ask yours).
We are told there will be a hall for seminars, will this be like the underused QE hall? Weddings will take place there, will they allow same sex Civil Partnerships? Will the restaurant only serve Halal food or will they be serving Kosher also, will Christians be able to get pork products. What we are to end up with will be a centre which is set to divide rather than “bond” the community.
'multifaith'...... hilarious, I'm weeing a little through laughing so much.
so glad i moved from oldham 3 years ago, my town has been given away
As we all know, only one faith would ever be present. Anything offered by the centre will have to be Muslim friendly no doubt.
Just had a look on OMBC Planning site and it seems that the abovementioned £7 million Centre will be given the go ahead this Thursday. Dont think this is a good idea. Wouldnt the Building be better used as a Health Centre which the whole of Hollinwood, regardless of Colour or Religion have been crying out for years?.
Have Your Say
No thank you. This will be a Muslim led centre that seeks to convert those that attend to their faith. If they want this type of centre, then let them donate the money to OMBC who can then open it and run it on secular grounds.
By AC @ 30/07/2010 12:49:49