News

Planning applications for mosque refused by Surrey Heath Borough Council

Released on 11 March 2010

At a special meeting of Surrey Heath Borough Council yesterday evening (March 10), planning permission was refused for the applications for a mosque and demolition of the existing buildings at 282 London Road, Camberley.

After hearing from a number of speakers both for and against the proposal, and following a full debate by the Members, the Council voted to agree (33 votes to 2) with the planning officers' recommendation, and refused the application due to excessive height and scale of the proposal and the detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the conservation area.

The Council had a full discussion of the issues and carefully considered all the arguments for and against the proposals before coming to the decision that it would not grant permission for the proposed development.

The new development proposed to demolish the existing locally listed Victorian school building within the Royal Military Academy (RMA) Conservation Area.

A second application for Conservation Area Consent was also refused (34 votes to 1).

Following the meeting, Leader of Surrey Heath Borough Council Cllr Moira Gibson said: "Having considered the proposals in much detail, the full Council's decision was to refuse the applications for reasons including the locally listed status of the existing building and its prominence within a conservation area, as well as bulk and size of the proposed mosque."