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The UK government has reportedly blocked plans to build a ‘mega-mosque’ near the Olympic Park in east London.
The news comes following a 13-year battle by the Tablighi Jamaat sect which has included protests by far-right extremist groups.
The proposed site would have housed more than 10,000 people in an area three times the floor space of St Paul’s Cathedral.
The scheme was rejected by Newham council in December 2012, after councillors said the proposed mosque was too large, would generate too much traffic, and was designed and planned poorly.
There is already a temporary mosque on the site that houses 2,500 people. The High Court ordered to have it closed in 2013 because it did not have planning permission – but this hasn’t happened.
The sect appealed the December 2012 decision last year – taking the application to a three-week public inquiry. The inspector’s report was sent to the government earlier this year but what happen next was shrouded in mystery because of its sensitive nature.
Alan Craig, a former Newham councillor who spearheaded the campaign against the mosque, said: "This is fantastic news. For a decade and a half, Tablighi Jamaat has pulled out every stop to get its way, but at last the spectre is over."
Another source is reported to have said: "This proposal has created a great division in Newham.”
This project first appeared on WAN in Sept 2005