COMMUNITY CENTRE PLANS REJECTED

"Plans to turn an old factory in Northampton into a Muslim community centre have been rejected by the body charged with overseeing the development of the town. The Al-Iman Society, which represents the town's East African community, had made the application to turn a former shoe factory on the corner of Cowper Street and Shakespeare Street, in The Mounts, into the centre. The application had previously been recommended for refusal and residents nearby had circulated a petition objecting to the plans. At a meeting of the West Northamptonshire Development Committee (WNDC) this week the application was turned down. John Weir, WNDC's Deputy Chairman and member of Northampton Area Planning Committee, said: "WNDC fully understands the need for new community centres but on this occasion the location is not suitable for the proposed use. The general noise and disruption from the proposed use would have an unacceptable impact on the surrounding area. "Secondly, Cowper Street and the surrounding roads do not have sufficient parking for current residents and therefore have no capacity for extra cars."Ahmed Ali, secretary of the Al-Iman Society, said the group respected the committee's decision but was disappointed, and will be having a meeting to decide its next step."

– from the northampton chronicle and echo, may 30

I missed this outcome and am disappointed (though not surprised) the chance to involve this group in the work may be lost. I'm hoping to arrange another visit to the factory asap to see what changes have been made. I now need to consider how this decision alters the direction of the work.