Islamic centre is not mosque, says An Bord Pleanála
PLANNING permission has been granted for a new cultural centre, including prayer rooms, for Muslims living in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, despite strong opposition from a large group of local residents.
An Bord Pleanála rejected an appeal by residents against the decision of Tipperary County Council to approve the proposed development by the Tipperary Islamic Cultural Centre (TICC) at Irishtown, Clonmel.
Locals claimed the proposed development should more correctly be described as a mosque as it would be used between 6am and 10pm, with prayers five times daily.
However, the TICC charity said a building had to have certain requirements to be classified as a mosque under Islamic law, which excluded other activities taking place inside it.
It added: ‘A building is not a mosque simply because five daily prayers are performed in it.’ An inspector with An Bord Pleanála said the building was not a traditional mosque and its description as a cultural centre was ‘accurate’.
The plans provide for the demolition of an existing derelict building and the construction of a two-storey centre that will provide for a number of activities including prayers, mother and toddler groups, a breastfeeding room, a library, a canteen and a youth club.
The board ruled that the centre, subject to a number of planning conditions, would not seriously injure residential or visual amenities, and was ‘an appropriate type and scale of development at this location’.
Residents had complained the centre would generate extra noise and traffic, and overshadow houses.
The objectors said the council’s decision to approve the project was ‘outrageous’.
‘There are so many more suitable sites in Clonmel where overdevelopment, overpopulation, traffic hazard and public safety are not an issue,’ said main appellant Bernie Reidy.
The TICC, currently based at a smaller premises in Clonmel, assured authorities there would be no amplified call to prayer, that most of those attending lived within walking distance, and that concerns there would be hoards of people accessing the building late at night were ‘unfounded’.
Concerns ‘are unfounded’