Council agrees to sell Hindu temple site again

1 day ago

Darren CalpinLocal Democracy Reporter

News image — The temple runs social and educational activities during the week, such as a lunch club and charity outreach work

Bharat Hindu Samaj Members of the Hindu congregation standing in prayer. They are facing the priest in a white ceremonial outfit who is sitting next to pictures of Hindu gods. — The temple runs social and educational activities during the week, such as a lunch club and charity outreach work

A council cabinet has again agreed to sell the site of a city's Hindu temple, after the original decision was deemed to have been made without enough information.

The Bharat Hindu Samaj Temple in Peterborough, which caters for nearly 14,000 worshippers, was established in the city's New England Complex in 1986.

Peterborough City Council decided to sell the asset to reduce debts, and its cabinet selected a preferred bidder in December for the land, but the decision was called in last month and sent back to the cabinet, who met on Tuesday.

Labour cabinet member for finance, Mohammed Jamil, said the council "has offered its services to working with the [Hindu] community to find another building".

The temple is used by Hindus from across Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire.

They have been fundraising for a number of years to buy the site outright, and had been in negotiations with the council since 2011.

Tuesday's meeting was attended by supporters of Bharat Hindu Samaj, which itself tabled a bid of £1.3m as part of the bidding process.

Bharat Hindu Samaj Two woman dressed in sarees and a man in a jumper and trousers and another woman in a green Indian shirt and white trousers sitting in a semi-circle praying in front a fire - inside a community hall with more worshippers in the background. — "Bharat Hindu Samaj is not just a place of worship but our home," Kishore Ladwa says

Vishal Vichare, a supporter, asked the cabinet: "Why has the council relied solely on financial value when it will have been entitled to balance social value against financial value?"

Jamil replied: "As part of the bidding process, social value was taken into account and officers from our property board came up with the decision that they did in the manner that they did."

John Howard, Conservative councillor, sought assurance the Hindu community's needs would be accommodated before the new owners took over the complex.

"It would be really unforgivable to ask one body to remove another body when it's a long-standing tenant," he said, adding: "We have a moral obligation, I feel, to make sure that move happens first."

Ekta Patel Exterior of the temple building with a red door. Bharat Hindu Samaj is written in white at the top of the door entrance and there is an orange flag. — The Bharat Hindu Samaj is used by worshippers from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire

The cabinet agreed to authorise the disposal "with the benefit of the additional and original detail to the preferred bidder", subject to "appropriate transitional provisions for existing tenants".

At this point, supporters of Bharat Hindu Samaj left the council's Sand Martin House headquarters en-masse.

Speaking afterwards, Jamil said he fully understood their disappointment, but added "let's turn this disappointment into something where we can work together.

"The council has offered its services to working with the [Hindu] community to find another building.

"We will work with them and I'm sure we will be able to accommodate them."

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