Decision to be made on new Black Country mosque – and here’s what the council has to say

A decision on building a new mosque in West Bromwich will be made next week – with a council report recommending work can go ahead. The new mosque is to be built on Dartmouth Street, West Bromwich, by the Bangladesh Muslim Welfare Association.

Sandwell Council’s planning committee meets on July 24 to decide with the authority’s planning officers whether to recommend that the application be approved. The new mosque, which would be larger than the one proposed in 2011, includes a larger main hall with space for 370 worshippers, a hall with space for more than 230 people, classrooms, meeting rooms, a separate space for women’s prayer for up to 135 people. people and a morgue.

Ten objections and a petition with 38 signatures against the new mosque have been submitted to Sandwell Council. A report, outlining the planning officers’ recommendation, said: “Approval of the application would be consistent with the planning history of the site and provide a well-designed community facility without significantly impairing the amenity of the surrounding area.”

Read more: New twist on block of flats road, where fire engines and garbage trucks are stuck and parking at ‘full capacity’

Read more: Planning row over one of Britain’s most dangerous buildings ‘temporarily’ resolved

Read more: West Bromwich community center plans refused again for same reason

The existing Jami Masjid and Islamic Center on the corner of Dartmouth Street and Brook Street would close to make way for the new mosque. The fenced land in Duke Street, between the existing and proposed mosques, will be cleared and turned into a nine-space car park.

Only sixteen parking spaces would be provided for the new mosque, with narrow Dartmouth Street, Brook Street and Duke Street mostly covered with double yellow lines and very few on-street spaces. Highways officers from Sandwell Council raised no objections. Reports on the app showed that around 425 people were now visiting the Brook Street mosque – close to the proposed maximum capacity for the new mosque – and just over a third of worshipers arrived by car or carpool.

Read more: Plans revealed to replace West Bromwich estate’s ‘dilapidated’ and at-risk community center

Read more: Crumbling pub will finally be demolished ‘before it collapses on itself’ but neighbors not happy

The traffic survey also showed 113 cars parked during peak Friday prayers. The mosque had argued that cars could park on both sides of Brook Street – despite most of the road having parking restrictions – and Sandwell Council said the road was not wide enough for two-way traffic with cars parked on both sides.

Read more: Gurdwara’s plan for bigger kitchen to provide more free meals during cost of living crisis

Read more: Plan to shoehorn flats into move-in ‘at odds’ with rest of estate could go ahead

The council said the new mosque “will not improve” the dire parking situation, but neither will it “significantly worsen it”. Sandwell Council initially approved plans to build a new mosque on the land, which was previously home to the Hop and Barleycorn pub, in 2011. The project was eventually shelved, with the BMWA blaming the economic downturn for halting work.

The plan to build the new mosque on the land in 2011 came with the condition that the association’s existing mosque at 67 Dartmouth Street would no longer be used to make way for the new mosque. This decision was taken despite concerns from neighbors about the lack of parking spaces.

Read more: M5 ‘green buffer’ and playing fields on Sandwell Council’s list of sites to go under the hammer

Read more: Smethwick baths to go under the hammer after vandalism leaves council with £7,500-a-month security bill

Read more: Sandwell College plans extra classrooms for iconic West Bromwich site once proposed for tower block

The council’s highways department said it had concerns about the new mosque – which will house up to 340 worshipers – after it found at least 80 extra cars parked on the residential street at peak times during prayers. Friday. There were also disagreements over the mosque’s design – council planners primarily advised it should not include a dome, which was included in the plans anyway, and said a proposed minaret was too tall.

The council eventually said it was willing to accept a smaller dome, which led to the plans being redrawn. That was not the end of the dispute – the BWMA continued with Sandwell Council’s decision after being granted permission for the disputed use of the existing mosque. This led to an intervention by the then Secretary of State – with the disagreement expected to be decided in a hearing by the Government’s planning inspectors.

After the council approved the new mosque under the impression that the Bangladesh Muslim Welfare Association would leave 67 Dartmouth Street, the association continued to contest the decision saying it had no intention of leaving and would continue to use the existing building for training, education and counseling as well as meetings – but not for worship.

After initially choosing to fight the decision, the council eventually backed down on the advice of lawyers who feared the council would be liable for a “substantial” payment. The council eventually reached an agreement with the BWMA that prevented the plans from being decided by the government.