Proposal to build mosque near Olympic Stadium rejected by London council

London: Proposals to build Britain’s biggest mosque near the Olympic Stadium has been refused amid fierce local opposition. Planners rejected the ‘mega-mosque’ plans in West Ham, east London, which would have been three times the size of St Paul`s Cathedral with a capacity for almost 10,000 worshippers.

Newham councillors rejected the plans, from Muslim group Tablighi Jamaat, after planning officials recommending permission be refused, the Telegraph reports. According to the report, As thousands waited outside the council offices for the result, official said that the mosque’s design was too large, would generate too much traffic and was poor in its planning and design. The Abbey Mills Mosque, also known as the Riverine Centre, would have become the biggest Islamic centre in Britain and one of the largest in western Europe had it been given the green light, the report said. Located in the shadow of the 2012 Olympic Park, in Stratford, it was to include a prayer hall for almost 7,500 men and a separate facility for about 2,000 women, the report added. ANI