Council calls in decision to sell Hindu site

City councillors in Peterborough have called in the authority's decision to sell a community building housing a Hindu temple and a soup kitchen for further scrutiny.

The council's cabinet last week approved the sale of the New England Complex in Millfield to a preferred bidder following what it called "a competitive best and final offer process".

The preferred bidder has not been named, and identified only by the letter B, but the temple told the BBC it believed its own bid to buy the building had been unsuccessful.

A request by three councillors for an extraordinary scrutiny committee meeting to review the decision has been granted.

The councillors are Liberal Democrats Ann Shaheed, who represents Gunthorpe, and Asif Shaheed, of Paston and Walton, and Independent member for Hampton Vale, Roger Antunes.

The complex on Rock Road contains seven community-use units, including the Bharat Hindu Samaj.

The Hindu temple was established in 1986 and is used by worshippers from across Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire.

The building's sale is part of the authority's ongoing efforts to reduce debts by selling off assets.

A date has yet to be announced for the extraordinary scrutiny committee meeting, at which reasons for the call-in and the next steps will be debated.

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