Town's first mosque gets the green light

Last week's Observer reported the Bexhill Islamic Association's (BIA) plan to convert a family house in Clifford Road to an Islamic Culture and Community Centre.

Yesterday (Thursday), Rother District Council's (RDC) planning committee approved the scheme despite concerns that parking in the area would become a free-for-all.

"Having it there is a great idea, but the parking is going to be a problem," said Cllr Joy Hughes. "I do go down that road every single day of my life.

"I know that during the day the post office people use that spot but once they have gone it's always full up.

"There's no other alternative parking in the area."

Cllr Deirdre Williams warned numbers of those turning up for prayer five times a day could increase from the BIA's estimate of 15-20 people daily, and up to 80 people for congregational prayers on Friday.

"Should that happen, where do we go?" she said. "On the other hand, the (next door) youth centre has been the Islamic Association's home for six years and it's been really successful. I think we would all like to see them find somewhere and I suppose this is probably the most suitable place we have come across."

The BIA, which expect most people to walk to the mosque or use public transport, say the centre "will play a major part in providing useful information to the local community".

As well as centre for prayer, it offers basic education about English culture to Muslim youth, and advice about housing, legal or other domestic matters where language or culture might be a barrier.

Opening times are restricted to between 6am-10pm.

Parking spots on Clifford Road are already highly prized. Post office workers, town centre shoppers, commuters and users of nearby Beulah Baptist Church all vie for spaces - a point made in the nine objection letters.

Richard Wilson, planning officer for RDC, agreed it was a "free-for-all", but told members it was an acceptable balance.

Cllr David Vereker added: "This seems to me to be an admirable operation. It will be useful for people to integrate into Bexhill's society."