Council approves £3.5m mosque to be built on former hotel site

Bolton Council’s planning committee in England has approved the construction of a mosque on a site, which used to house a hotel pub.

The Brierfield Hotel was closed in 2016, before being completely demolished in early 2020.

• Adekunle Gold features Davido in new single, High
• PODCAST: Buhari’s First Cabinet Reshuffle: What It Portends

The Masjid-e-Salaam Madrassah Trust are relocating from their current site 200 yards away on Ramsay Street to a new two-storey building on Blackburn Road, Sharples, adjacent to Thornydyke Avenue.

The planning application came before Bolton Council’s planning committee this week and was approved by members after it had been recommended for approval by council planning officers.

Mohammed Patel, a director at the trust, said he was very pleased to see the plans approved.

“We are pleased that the planning committee has approved our exciting plans for the former Brierfield site.

“The decision allows us to take the next steps in our plans for the purpose-built premises that will cater for our members and will also enable us to expand our community outreach work. We welcome the encouraging words from Councillors on the Committee, and look forward to welcoming our members and the wider community to our facility in the future,” he said.

The building is set to comprise two floors and a basement and would be a multi-use building, containing an education centre, a prayer facility, a community hall and a children’s nursery with 37 car parking spaces and 14 bicycle spaces. Concerns had been raised by residents over traffic and parking concerns after the application was submitted.