An agent from the foundation told the council’s planning committee that the pub has “stood empty” since 2022.
The Glen is set to become a mosque (Image: Getty)
Thousands have signed a petition to protest the conversion of a closed pub into a mosque. The Glen in Leicester shut in spring 2023 and has been vacant since. Now, the Eyres Monsell Community Foundation has had plans to convert the building into a mosque approved by the council.
An agent from the foundation told the council’s planning committee that the pub has “stood empty” since 2022, despite efforts to find a new landlord for it. He added: “But this building does not need to remain vacant. The application proposes to bring it back into meaningful, active, community use as a place of worship.”
The agent said the foundation is already established in the ward, having operated out of the local community centre since 2018, with its congregation having “grown and grown” since then and the group needing a “permanent home”. This is a “local proposal made by local people to benefit the local community”, he said.
The foundation had plans for conversion approved (Image: Getty)
Planning committee chairwoman Yasmin Surti approved the plans. She said: “I hear the concerns of the objectors, particularly around noise and traffic safety, [but] I believe they have been addressed [by officers]… I think bringing this disused property back into use is a welcome thing.”
Surti said she wanted the foundation to “work very, very closely” with residents to “really understand their concerns”, address those and make sure this “works for everybody”.
A Change.org petition was started and has over 2,500 signatures. Just under 900 local residents made formal objections to the plan. Organisers said: “Our concern is not based on religious intolerance but rather a desire to preserve the cultural identity of our beloved Hillsborough Road.
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“As local residents, we have grown up establishing cherished memories with this establishment. The Glen Pub is more than just a pub to us; it’s a place where friendships were forged, stories were shared, and community bonds were strengthened.”
However, there was also widespread support for the proposals as well, with 250 people commenting in favour of it.
They said a mosque was needed in the area, welcomed the empty building being brought back into use, and said the new centre will provide additional facilities such as a food bank “for all of the community”.
