A NEW “milestone” mosque aims to “bring social harmony between communities” and will be open to all, says the general secretary of the Worcester Muslim Welfare Association (WMWA).

City councillors approved plans for the 800-capacity mosque as well as apartments and a sports centre on the old Stanley Road car park at a meeting on Thursday (December 13).

WMWA currently has a mosque on Tallow Hill but wants to move to Stanley Road to cater for its growing number of worshippers, with the current building only having capacity for 500.

The overall development is expected to cost around £5million and is being paid for by the association itself.

Mohammed Iqbal, general secretary, said: “Our facilities will be open to all communities – the purpose to fulfil the social aspect of what a mosque should be.

“In the days of the past, mosques were a place of social gatherings bringing people of all faiths together.

“We are trying to achieve these functions to bring social harmony between communities and to encourage cohesion and inclusion."

WMWA purchased the site 10 years ago from the council with the intention of one day building and “laying the foundation” for a “bespoke designed mosque”, continued Mr Iqbal.

“I am pleased that part of this milestone has been achieved and, God willing, the construction can start in the next few years,” he added.

The current facilities on Tallow Hill are slowly becoming inadequate and, taking into account the growing population, the existing mosque is expected to be outgrown over the next decade.

The new mosque project has been designed by a local architecture firm and Mr Iqbal said it will also benefit the local economy with future jobs in construction.

“The area is currently rundown and will be vastly improved with a new iconic mosque, residential apartments and a sport centre,” he added.

WMWA submitted the planning application in August, which was met with concerns over congestion and parking in Stanley Road, fuelled by the significant increase in worshippers.

At Thursday’s meeting at the Guildhall, Phil Clarke, a resident of nearby Byfield Rise, showed the council’s planning committee dashcam footage illustrating what he saw as a “terrible” parking problem around Stanley Road and Tallow Hill.

Mr Clarke said the mosque was the “wrong development” and in the “wrong location.”

Some councillors had suggested switching access from Stanley Road to Midland Road, but an officer from the county council’s highways department told the committee this was “undeliverable”.

He said access plans were appropriate and could not recommend Midland Road as being better because it was not part of the original application.

WMWA has said most visitors to the mosque will likely travel there on foot, so the number of cars would not necessarily increase.

Of the 255 responses from neighbours sent to the council regarding the application, more than half objected to it in relation to not only congestion but also the scale of the design and noise, as well as whether a bigger mosque was needed.

Regarding noise, city council planners said worshippers entering and leaving the mosque would not create unacceptable levels.

Worcestershire Regulatory Services raised no objections to the plan and said noise would not “adversely” impact neighbouring residents.

Councillors did raise concerns about certain elements of the project at the meeting, but the vote in favour of the scheme was almost unanimous.

Cllr Jo Hodges said there is an “unquestionable need” for a bigger mosque and Cllr Roger Berry said the new mosque was a “landmark scheme”.

Mr Iqbal went on to say: “We would like to thank everyone who supported us during the last 12 months – especially our friends of other faiths, local councillors, our community, local residents and the local business community.

“We are humbled with the support and are proud to be part of this faithful city.”

Referring to Thursday’s meeting, he said WMWA is “pleased and happy with the decision”, adding that the planning committee “made a wise, thoughtful decision based on facts and research provided to back this project”.

Aside from planning issues, the mosque has attracted other forms of protest – with members of the far-right English Defence League (EDL) holding protests against the plans on July 21 and September.

These demonstrations were met with large numbers of counter-protestors, which on the second occasion significantly dwarfed those in favour of the EDL.

Mr Iqbal said: “Racism and hate has no place in our society. As a community we have no objections to freedom of speech and people are free to voice opinion in free thinking society. However, the definition of hate speech needs to be defined of what is offensive and sensitive.

“All religions have the right to be protected from abuse and vile language, the law in this area needs to be clarified in the interest of all concerned and boundaries set.”

Once the new mosque has been completed, the existing one will be turned into a new educational and learning facility, whilst still retaining the car parks during busy periods.