Camberley mosque plan rejected by council

Plans to build a mosque in Camberley have been thrown out by councillors.

The local Bengali Association's bid to build a mosque on the site of a listed former school building was rejected by Surrey Heath Borough Council.

Local historians and residents had opposed the plans, saying the town's heritage needed to be protected.

Nigel Farage, the UK Independence Party MEP for the South East, described the full council's decision as "the right result for the people of Camberley".

'Fair and just'

He said: "The initial planning application should have been thrown out as the building in question is listed and is sited in a conservation area.

"This was never about religion, but about the fair and just process that applies to everyone no matter what faith or belief."

The plan involved knocking down the listed Victorian school building in London Road, which is about half a mile away from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

It was originally home to Yorktown Infants and Primary schools, before later becoming St Gregory's Roman Catholic school.

When the school closed, the building was sold to the Berkshire, Hampshire & Surrey Bengali Welfare Association which has been using it as an Islamic Centre since 1996.

The association argued that the building no longer met the needs of the growing local Muslim community, and people wanted to worship in a mosque and not in a school.

The plans had been approved by Surrey Heath Borough Council's planning committee earlier this year, but overturned on a technicality.