Peterborough mosque loudspeaker plans for daily call to prayer rejected

Councillors said they could not sanction a trial of the amplified call to prayer three times a day at Masjid Ghousia in Gladstone Street, Millfield, due to noise concerns.

Under the proposals, the call would have been made at lunchtime, afternoon and sunset, but Peterborough City Council’s planning department had recommended that the application be refused as the sound would be “sudden” and “unfamiliar” in the urban area, causing an “unacceptable impact”.

It also warned that approving the new loudspeakers would “set an undesirable precedent” for further mosques close by.

The Planning and Environmental Protection Committee heard on Tuesday from two of the mosque area’s ward councillors - Cllr Ansar Ali (Labour and Cooperative) and Cllr Mohammed Nadeem (Conservative).

Cllr Ali said he is “proud” to represent a “very diverse ward” and that the reach of the loudspeakers would only be for a small area where “the vast majority of the people living there are Muslim”.

He continued: “I’ve spoken to many other people from that area of faith and non-faith who have also told me that they have no objection to this application.”

Instead, he said the vast majority of objections the council had received to the plans were based on leaflets delivered to people living in areas who would not be affected by the loudspeakers.

These had been distributed to “incite people from outside the area to send in their objections,” he claimed.

Cllr Nadeem added: “I’m not supporting this application based on it being in my ward, nor am I supporting it as a user of this mosque. I am supporting this application based on principal and calls from constituents showing their passion to support this application.”

Under the plans, each call would last no more than five minutes and would be sounded out through four loudspeakers.

These would be located on the top of the minaret (tower) at the Springfield Road/Gladstone Street junction end of the building and would be hidden from view.

The council said it had received 384 responses to a public consultation on the plans, of which 288 were supportive and 92 were in opposition.

Ahead of the meeting Nazim Khan, chairman of the Masjid Ghousia Management Committee, told the Peterborough Telegraph that the mosque had been approached by a number of local people who had “asked for this provision in these difficult and challenging times,” adding that: “It’s extremely soothing and spiritually uplifting.”

Addressing the meeting, he called for a trial of 12 to 18 months with the ability to stop the daily calls if problems emerged.

He told members: “The last thing we want to do is alienate our neighbours and residents - that is not our intention. Our intention is to carry all those residents with us.

“Just give us the opportunity to prove to yourselves and ourselves, and the officers, that we can work together.”

The central issue surrounded the noise impact, with council head of development and construction Nick Harding telling the committee that it was impossible to know how far the noise would travel due to a lack of information provided.

However, Labour member for Central ward and committee member Cllr Amjad Iqbal said the council’s own pollution team had noted that a noise consultant would not add “great value”.

He also denied that granting approval would set a precedent.

Cllr Iqbal was supported by Labour and Cooperative Central ward member Cllr Mohammed Jamil, with both men backing a trial run of at least a year.

This, though, was rejected by eight votes to three, with only Labour member for Dogsthorpe Dennis Jones giving his backing to temporary planning permission.

Cabinet member for strategic planning and commercial strategy and investments Cllr Peter Hiller, who is also a Conservative ward member for Castor and Glinton, said: “The enjoyment of other people’s daily lives will be impacted on three times a day for most of the year.

“A qualified and a reasoned refusal is a protection of the amenity of many who want to maintain the current status quo and respect all citizens as equals.”

Conservative member for Orton Longueville Cllr Graham Casey said there was a “policy vacuum” which made it harder to make a decision, but added that “there is a risk that it could cause division” in the community.

Liberal Democrat member for Gunthorpe Cllr Andrew Bond added: “This is a difficult situation. If it is an issue, 12 to 18 months to two years is a very long time for residents to have an issue before it can be addressed.”

Finally, committee chair and Conservative member for Stanground South Cllr Chris Harper said: “We are an environmental protection committee as well as a planning committee and there will be an effect on the environment, certainly to people who may not like it. To just trial it on people who may not like it may be a tad unfair.

“From my point of view and a planning point of view there could be harm.”