Hindu community says 'we've been failed' by Peterborough City Council over centre of worship sale
A Hindu community in Peterborough says it has been failed by council chiefs who have just agreed to sell the building that has been its centre of worship for four decades.
Now members of the community have vowed to explore legal measures after Peterborough City Council’s ruling cabinet approved on Tuesday (February 10) the sale of the New England Complex, in Lincoln Road, Millfield, which has been home to the Bharat Hindu Samaj Hindu temple for 40 years.
The decision to sell the building comes just four weeks after the council’s sustainable future scrutiny committee had agreed the cabinet should take a second look at its original proposals, made last December, to sell the Complex to the highest bidder.
As well as confirming its original decision to sell the building, the council has agreed to try and find alternative premises within the next six months.
The building on Rock Road has been home to the Bharat Hindu Samaj for 40 years and serves an estimated 13,500 Hindus from across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire.
But the council wants to sell the asset as part of its battle to balance its budget.
After the meeting, community spokesman Dinesh Odedra said: “It is a really poor outcome for us.
"Peterborough City Council has failed us for 15 years.
He said: “While they now promise to find us something suitable inside six months, this is just not credible.
"The council has not even approached us in over a year to tell us how they can help.
"On one hand they say we have tenancy protection, on the other hand they want us to find somewhere else.
Mr Dinesh added: “It’s easy to make promises in front of Cabinet but harder for them to keep those promises.
"So while council is deciding how it can help us, we are exploring all of our legal options.”
Following the Cabinet meeting, Councillor Mohammed Jamil (Lab), the Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Governance, voiced sympathy for the temple’s dejected supporters and campaigners.
He said: “I fully understand their disappointment but let’s turn this disappointment into something where we can work together.
“The council has offered its services to working with the [Hindu] community to find another building.
“We will work with them and I’m sure we will be able to accommodate them.”