A developer whose controversial plans for a former priests’ house in suburban Preston have repeatedly been rejected by officials says he now intends to hand it over to a mosque.
Mick Patel wanted to turn the property on Sharoe Green Lane into 31 bedsits, which he said would be marketed for use by staff working at the nearby Royal Preston Hospital.
However, that bid – for the conversion of a collection of buildings that had operated as the Xaverian Mission Spirituality Centre for more than 25 years – was knocked back by Preston City Council’s planning committee last December, a decision that was later upheld on appeal to a planning inspector.
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It was concluded that the “comings and goings” associated with such a large house in multiple occupation (HMO) would far exceed those of the surrounding residential properties. As the spirituality centre, its only permanent residents were a small number of clergymen, but it also served as a retreat house.
Mr. Patel’s firm – Bamber Bridge-based Sapphire Property Investments Ltd. – had already begun renting out the 30-space car park at the site to other NHS workers last year and, after the initial rejection of the HMO proposal, installed a new “hardstanding” area to more than double the number of parking bays to 65.
But now town hall planners have also refused retrospective permission for the car park expansion – which was completed without approval from the local authority – because of the “unacceptable harm” that would be caused to neighbouring households as a result of the increased “noise and disturbance“ from vehicles. Mr. Patel says he was originally unaware permission was required for the work.
However, he has told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that he is now “in negotiations” to turn the building into a Muslim place of worship – a change which he says the council would be powerless to prevent, because the site’s previous guise means it is already approved for religious use.
“We might have to tell the NHS staff to vacate [the car park] – and they’re absolutely desperate for parking – because we are going to be renting [the property] to a mosque.
“We needed the [extra] parking for the existing building, so we could [have kept] the NHS spaces there.
“But [the council] turned us down for that and the HMO, so there’ll probably be a mosque going there now,” Mr. Patel said.
He could not yet confirm whether it was an existing mosque community or a new one that may take over the buildings – once a farmhouse and associated units – as “talks” are ongoing.
In a report outlining their reasons for rejecting the enlarged parking area, planning officers said that the hardstanding area – which now covers almost the entire plot – has resulted in the creation of “a large-scale car park within an existing residential area” which “directly impact[s]” the appearance of the site and is “unacceptable in principle”.
The document notes that mature trees and hedging had screened the original car park from the main road, but that these had now been “completely removed…which has obliterated the previously green and verdant character of the site”.
As the trees and shrubbery were not covered by a protection order, specific permission for their removal was not needed – but approval was required for the laying of the new car park.
However, Mick Patel said he would be appealing against the refusal of the expanded parking facility – and that, even if he lost, he would simply replace the freshly laid surface with one made of a material that did not require planning permission.
“We won’t be putting [anything] back,” he said when asked about the possibility of replanting the area.
Cllr Maxwell Green – one of the three Shore Green ward councillors who all opposed the HMO plan – also fought against the car park expansion, as he watched with increasing horror as the dense greenery that previously occupied by the site rapidly disappeared.
He told the LDRS he had been “pursuing it almost daily for months” – and condemned Sapphire Property Investments’ actions, appealing to the firm to restore the land to its former state.
“Residents are happy that the car park was refused – the site is not suitable for as many cars as they were aiming for. They’ve undertaken work without permission and just not improved the site – causing upset to residents, removing all the trees and harming the environment.
“I hope with this being refused that the developer will return the site to how it was before, including removing tarmac and planting new trees.
“If it should become a mosque, then I hope those running it will speak with residents and be good neighbours. However, the site is still not suitable for all the cars that would come with this type of usage – something the developer keeps failing to understand.
“There is no suitable on-road parking and it’s already bad enough along Sharoe Green Lane, St Vincents Road and other local streets – especially around school times – with nothing being done to alleviate dangerous parking. The site is immediately on a roundabout, which poses a safety risk.
“I hope whatever comes of the site, the owners will be respectful to their neighbours [and] the environment – and that it is appropriate for the very busy location,” Cllr Green said.
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