As Tommy Robinson said in Dagenham last week there are so many applications coming through to build new mosques or extend existing ones that they cannot all be countered, hence the general campaign being organised. This application is of particular interest due to the interference of a certain councillor.
From This is Local London
A BID to expand a mosque could still go ahead after a senior councillor intervened to prevent the application being refused outright.
The Chingford Islamic Society bookshop and cultural centre in Chingford Mount Road wants to convert the adjacent nail shop and first floor flat, which it bought last year.
Officers recommended the plans for refusal due to the loss of a residential premises, the impact on surrounding residential occupiers and parking, with the increased number of visitors.
But Lea Bridge ward councillor and cabinet member Afzal Akram has stepped in to ask officers to refer the application to a planning committee. However, he has not made a formal comment on the bid and explained why he has intervened.
The council said nearby residents on Chingford Mount Road and Royston Avenue were consulted, but no responses were received.
A local resident gives this as the reason
"If anyone dared to object, theyd be classed as racist so its not even worth bothering".
I have heard of 95% of objections to one planning project (I forget where but it wasn't London) being rejected for that reason; only objections concerning parking were accepted.
The Guardian has approached both the mosque and Cllr Akram for a comment.
The first comment says it better than I could
"Would be nice if Mr Akram thought about the whole community for a change, rather than just the select few who happen to be his cronies".
Cllr Akram represents the area in the south of the borough around the Jamia Masjid Ghousia Mosque in Lea Bridge Road. This mosque in Chingford is several miles away in the north of the borough.
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