A planning application has been lodged at City Hall to retain a hugely controversial unauthorised mosque on the western side of the city.
The owners of the house at Mincloon, Dr Saud Bajwa and Molon Bazlul Haque of the Western Islamic Cultural Centre, have sought permission to retain the use of the property as a place of worship by the Muslim community, to construct a weather porch to the front, and to mark off car parking spaces.
They pointed out that the recently-adopted City Development Plan provides for the use of the house as a place of congregation and worship.
“The primary function of the property will continue to be a dwelling house. The property is the home of the Imam, or the Muslim ‘priest’. Similar to Catholic priests’ houses, informal visits from members of the Muslim community are commonplace.
“The dwellinghouse is segregated into areas of private use and areas accessible to visitors. The basement floor consists of a living quarter and is completely utilised for private use by the Imam and his family. Parts of the ground floor will be accessible to visitors,” the application reads.
The application includes proposals for 16 carparking spaces.
“Visitation among the Muslim community is generally a regular occurrence, with individuals and families visiting each other on a daily basis, predominantly in the evenings. The Imam’s role includes parish counselling and meeting members of the community.
“The number of visits to the Imam’s home are probably greatest on Thursday evenings in preparation for Friday’s congregation in Westside [Community Centre] and he may on occasion have 10 to 15 visitors to his home.
“Less frequently, when there is special religious events or gatherings, the numbers in attendance may exceed that. The adjoining property is also owned by members of the Muslim community and is occupied by two families,” the application reads.
A decision is expected from planners at the end of April.
The property has been mired in controversy since 2010, when an inspector from the Council’s Enforcement Section visited the site and found what was being built was vastly different from the single-storey house granted permission a year previously – this included an unauthorised basement living area, and a garage area had no garage door and was being partitioned into a number of rooms.
The Enforcement Officer also noted that the building had a “generous supply of electrical cabling”.
A warning letter and Enforcement Notice followed, and planning permission to regularise some of the changes to the development was subsequently sought and approved.
However, in 2013, there were further complaints to the Enforcement Section and an inspection found the rear of the property had been tarmacadamed for a carpark, a high timber fence had been built and the basement area contained bedrooms, a living area and kitchen, rather than the ‘study’ shown on drawings.
A further warning letter was served by the Council.
During discussions on the Draft City Development Plan (now passed) last December, Senior Planner Caroline Phelan said unauthorised development was an ongoing issue at the site.
“We highlighted all along that they shouldn’t invest money in something that is prohibited. This unauthorised development has been pursued since 2012 . . . four years of resources have been invested into something that is prohibited. Some of the inspections on this property were done up to midnight. There is a mosque on residential lands in the city,” she said.
There were 17 submissions made on proposals to vary the Development Plan to allow for a mosque on the site – all of which were against the change on the grounds of the area being an inappropriate location for a place of worship, and would lead to increased traffic congestion. However, following a heated row in the chamber, councillors voted 11-7 to make the change – against the advice of Council officials.
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