Questions raised over failure of £1.3 million offer to buy a Hindu centre of worship in Peterborough
Questions are being asked about why a £1.2 million offer from a community group to buy a Hindu centre of worship from Peterborough City Council was not accepted.
Concerns have been raised after the council agreed to accept external offers for the New England Complex in Lincoln Road earlier this month.
Now the decision is to be reviewed after three councillors - Now Councillor Roger Antunes, Cllr Ann Shaheed and Cllr Asif Shaheed - used council procedures to call-in the decision,
It will be looked at again by the extraordinary meeting of the Sustainable Future City Council Scrutiny Committee at a date that has still to be arranged
Dinesh Odedra, a spokesperson for the centre, said: “We want to know why an offer that was made by the centre of £1.2 million was not acceptable to the council?
"We are very concerned that the buyers the council is looking at will not maintain the current uses of the centre.”
As well as being an important place of worship, the temple hosts a wide range of community events and makes large charitable donations.
The building on Rock Road has been home to the Bharat Hindu Samaj Mandir for 40 years and serves an estimated 13,500 Hindus from across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire.
Mr Odedra said: “The community has made an offer to the council.
"In addition there would be a refurbishment worth several million pounds as much of the building is dilapidated.
"At the moment we only use a small part of the building but have plans to use it all and which would bring in many more people. At the moment the building holds 300 people but there are 900 people who want to attend.
"The building is also used by a number of charitable organisations.”