A PROPOSED new mosque in the heart of Brierfield took a step nearer to becoming reality after councillors recommended land should be sold to the mosque committee.

Pendle Council's Brierfield and Reedley area committee unanimously agreed to recommend the sale of the council-owned site in Carlton Street, currently a car park.

The site forms around half the total area of land the Sultania mosque committee wants for its centre of worship. The committee is negotiating with the owners of nine houses in Albert Street which back on to the car park to buy their properties to give a large enough site.

The new mosque would replace the existing place of worship in a row of houses in Bridge Street.

Councillor Frank Clifford said: "The community's needs have outgrown the Bridge Street site at a significant rate and for the last two years there has been a search for a piece of land suitable for a purpose-built mosque.

"A number of sites have been visited and many meetings held to find the right place in a densely populated area at a reasonable price. On the face of it, it became clear that here it was at the heart of Brierfield and at the heart of the community."

Councillors agreed the Carlton Street car park was under-used and had become a dumping ground for abandoned vehicles.

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