‘Landmark’ Bolton mosque slated for approval

If the council follows its officer’s recommendation, the Masjid-e-Salaam Trust will be getting a new £3.5m home, complete with a nursery and community hall.

Located at 721 Blackburn Road, the site in question is the former home of the Brierfield Pub. That pub was demolished last year.

Plans by architects Bradshaw Gass & Hope call for the erection of a 20,258 sq ft building consisting of two storeys and a basement for the mosque’s congregation.

Within its walls would be a 12-classroom education centre and 1,380 sq ft nursery. The main prayer hall would be 2,103 sq ft, with another first-floor prayer space consisting of 1,523 sq ft.

At the proposed mosque, there would be 47 car parking spaces and four spaces for motorcycles. There would also be 14 spaces for bicycles.

The new building would be 200 yards away from the congregation’s current home on Ramsay Street. It would be larger and have improved facilities.

Bolton Council’s planning officer noted that the Masjid-e-Salaam Trust intended “to create a landmark building on the site and one that is not a pastiche of neighbouring building technology”. However, the officer said they did not consider that such a design would harm the street scene or character of the area.

The development team for the project included landscape architect Appletons, planner Paul Butler Associates, transport experts Modal Highway Consultants, ecologists Dunelm Ecology and heritage consultant C.J O’Flaherty. Also on the team: ACS Consulting, LK Consult, JRB Environmental Design, Philip Dunbavin Acoustics and Worms Eye.

Bolton Council received 136 letters of support for the scheme and 74 letters objecting to it. The council will be discussing the project at its meeting on 2 September.