Plans to retrospectively change use of heritage building to Mosque rejected
Plans to retrospectively change the use of a heritage building in Doncaster to a mosque have been refused by city councillors.
Members of the City of Doncaster Council’s planning committee followed the recommendation of planning officials to refuse the application from the Eden Centre over “unacceptable amenity impacts”.
The Eden Centre, a Masjid, Islamic school and community hub, is the owner and occupant of the building on Thorne Road. Its application was made retrospectively, as the Eden Centre is already using the site as a place of worship.
Planning officials said the application is “acceptable in principle” so long as it does not have an unacceptable impact on local amenity.
Officials outlined to the committee panel that there was insufficient off-street parking provision for the site.
A visit to the site by officials during Friday prayer discovered illegal parking, overuse of the curtilage as an informal parking area and vehicles blocking the entrances to properties, all attributed to the use of the building.
The impact of the use of the building as a place of worship on the availability of parking for residents was one of many impacts on residential amenity deemed unacceptable.
Nearby residents reported being unable to access or leave their properties during peak times.
Officials said they did not believe any condition to planning permission to reduce the impact would be enforceable.
Local resident Andrew Thompson spoke to the committee to object to the application.
He said: “My objection has nothing to do with any cultural basis whatsoever. I would be objecting to this whether it was a mosque, chapel, church or temple.
“What we are dealing with on Thorne Road is a Victorian house… using a private house for running offices is a very different matter to using that same house for large scale meeting purposes.
“The planning officer has already outlined the issues to parking and the disruption to residents in this purpose.”
Mr Thompson said the application included a “gross underestimation” of the numbers using the site.
Concerns over parking were further validated by highways officer, Andrew Wiltshire, who warned highway safety would be “compromised” and said: “It’s definitive, in our opinion, that there is never going to be enough room.”
The application was rejected with five votes to refuse planning permission and three abstentions.