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LONDON: A temple serving 18,000 Hindus successful Peterborough and surrounding counties has been thrown a lifeline by a precocious tribunal justice who has issued a impermanent injunction preventing the merchantability of the gathering it is successful to a mosque.The Bharat Hindu Samaj Temple (BHS) was established successful the New England Complex successful Peterborough successful 1986 by Ugandan Hindu refugees. Apart from being a spot of worship, it offers luncheon clubs for the elderly, runs a dementia centre, yoga classes, and Indian connection classes.Peterborough metropolis assembly decided to merchantability the building. In Oct 2025 the temple enactment successful a £1.4 cardinal bid to acquisition it. It was 1 of 2 bidders.
In Dec the assembly furniture decided to merchantability it to “Bidder B”. The individuality was ne'er disclosed by the council, but the temple recovered retired via its solicitors that it was a mosque.This determination was called successful by the scrutiny committee amid concerns due processes were not followed but the furniture reaffirmed its determination connected Feb 10. This triggered the temple to commence a judicial reappraisal successful the London precocious tribunal challenging the council’s decision, naming the Masjid Khadijah and the Islamic Centre of Khadijah mosque successful Peterborough arsenic funny parties.
On Feb 27 Justice Fordham directed that the assembly indispensable not instrumentality immoderate “irreversible step” concerning the New England Complex, saying determination was “a beardown prima facie case” supporting granting interim relief. A further bid volition beryllium made connected oregon aft March 5.Ekta Patel, temple vice-president, said: “I afloat enactment the injunction enactment guardant by Bharat Hindu Samaj and I americium grateful that Mr Fordham recognises the gravity of this matter.
The mode successful which the merchantability has been justified raises superior concerns. There indispensable beryllium transparency and accountability successful the council’s decision-making process.”“I americium delighted with the precocious tribunal bid against Peterborough City Council. We person tons of enactment from Hindu mandirs, Hindu organisations and individuals each implicit the UK,” said Kishor Ladwa, temple president.Tory adjacent Rami Ranger has written to communities caput Steve Reed calling connected him to intervene and overturn the council’s decision.A spokesperson for Peterborough City Council said: “We are alert of the ineligible enactment being pursued successful narration to the merchantability of the New England Complex and volition present prosecute successful the ineligible process. We are not selling the gathering with vacant possession — the gathering is being sold with the tenants successful place.”But this does small to assuage the temple management.“Such assurances are not legally binding guarantees of semipermanent security, and established ineligible mechanisms beryllium done which aboriginal ownership arrangements tin change tenancy conditions, restrict use, oregon yet necessitate vacancy, peculiarly if the landlord is different religion group,” BHS said successful a statement.
“The assemblage volition proceed to prosecute each lawful and constructive avenue disposable to support its close to worship.
”“We were shocked erstwhile the assembly did not take us. The aged were crying successful the temple. We said we would lucifer the different bid but ne'er heard back. It is precise uncommon to determination idols. You would bash everything imaginable not to determination them,” explained temple trustee Gauri Chaudhary. “We person not heard from the assembly that we tin enactment arsenic tenants.
We person not adjacent heard backmost that we person mislaid the bid. We don’t cognize if we tin enactment successful the building, and, if so, what the declaration would look like, what restrictions determination mightiness be.
A religion being custodian of different religion is not a civilian mode to beryllium successful a divers society. If it was the different mode round, the different bidder would consciousness the same. I volition ne'er hide the kids asking: ‘Where volition we observe our festivals?’”For 15 years, BHS had been occupying the premises rent-free and has been successful continual dialog with the assembly regarding the aboriginal of the site, negotiating to bargain it for £1.
But successful Aug 2024 the £1 connection was withdrawn erstwhile the assembly received an unsolicited £1.2 cardinal bid. The temple was advised by the assembly to bid £1.3m, which it did, but ne'er got a response. It ne'er went to cabinet.The assembly had a alteration of medication successful May 2025 which established a spot committee which decided they would not judge the connection and it would spell to unfastened tender.In Sept BHS was fixed 1 period to hole its bid, with nary nonrecreational support.
“I felt this was unreasonable and outrageous,” said councillor Roger Antunes, 1 of 3 councillors who called for the determination to beryllium called successful by the scrutiny committee. The committee pointed retired the assembly tin negociate a merchantability with a assemblage organisation who person exceptional circumstances. “I judge 40 years of past successful that tract warrants those conditions to beryllium honoured.
The assembly request not person accepted an unsolicited bid,” Antunes said.
But the furniture rejected this advice. “We are inactive waiting for galore of the documents asked astatine scrutiny to beryllium provided. There is nary information of tenure astatine the site. The caller landlord tin get and springiness them notice. The Hindu assemblage person acted successful bully religion and I consciousness they person been unfairly treated by the council,” Antunes said.Dharmesh Pandaya, temple priest, said: “Through ineffable Pran Pratishtha, this mandir became a surviving spiritual presence.
It cannot beryllium treated simply arsenic property. Losing it would interruption thousands of hearts.”On its website, the Khadijah Mosque and Islamic Centre connected Cromwell Road, a subdivision of the UK Islamic Mission (UKIM), says it has outgrown its premises and is fundraising for a caller mosque. A spokesperson told TOI: “We tin corroborate UKIM Peterborough has been selected arsenic the preferred bidder done the council’s competitory process for the New England Complex.
As determination are ongoing ineligible proceedings, it would not beryllium due for america to remark connected the details astatine this stage.
Our absorption remains connected acting responsibly, supporting assemblage cohesion, and moving constructively with the assembly and each affected parties.”Peterborough presently has 2 gurdwaras, 9 mosques, 84 churches and 1 Hindu temple.The Hindu Council UK compared the menace of closure to “the precise agelong and bittersweet occurrence of Ram Mandir Ayodhya 500 years ago”.“For immoderate religion community, autonomy implicit its consecrated spot of worship is fundamental,” the BHS trustees said successful a statement. “It is astir justice, faith, and the close of a long-standing assemblage to beryllium without fearfulness of erasure.”
