Mosque green light

Oldham Planning Committee
PLANS for a mosque with prayer halls, a teaching room, a community function room and a 21-space car park in Coldhurst have been approved.

The mosque will be built in Westbourne Street, on what is currently a triangular-shaped landscaped area of public open space.

Outline planning permission was granted for the development, which will replace an existing smaller facility based in two houses at 156 and 158 Middleton Road. They will be converted back into houses and sold to pay towards the cost of building the mosque.

Planners heard the current facility is “inadequate” and with no off-street car parking is not suitable for the growing local Muslim community. Details relating to the mosque’s size, access, appearance and landscaping, have yet to be agreed.

Permission is subject to the applicant, Oldham Mosque and Islamic Centre, making a £71,574 payment to provide alternative public open space.