A beloved former pub in Leicester will be converted into a mosque after the local council greenlit a series of highly controversial plans.
The Glen, on the city's Hillsborough Road, closed its doors for good in April 2023 - but then, Eyres Monsell Community Foundation came forward to try and convert the site.
Applying for planning, the foundation's agent told Labour-run Leicester City Council that the 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 added, and said the area's Muslim congregation had "grown and grown" and needed a "permanent home".
The Glen, pictured in 2018, will be converted into a mosque after the local council greenlit a series of highly controversial plans
Planning committee chairwoman Yasmin Surti - who is also the secretary of the Federation of Muslim Organisations - approved the plans.
"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," she said.
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".
Some of those concerns had boiled over in the run-up to the mosque plans being approved.
A Change.org petititon to halt its transformation had garnered more than 2,500 signatures - while around 870 local residents filed formal objections to the plan.
Organisers behind the petition had 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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Yasmin Surti - who is also the secretary of the Federation of Muslim Organisations - approved the plans
LEICESTER CITY COUNCIL
"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."
One signatory, Adam, said: "It just feels that most derelict places are being turned into mosques. It just feels unfair, as my community was forced out because they wanted to turn our church into a mosque. It just don't seem fair."
"We don't want this on our doorstep," said another, Darren, while Marc said it would "culturally disturb" the area - and branded the plans "absolutely ridiculous".
One more, Cheryl, added: "Let's fight to save this pub and get it reopened for the community."
The Glen finally closed in April 2023 after the pandemic
Conditions have been attached to the planning approval which restrict the mosque's opening hours.
These will mean it can only open between 7.30am and 11pm, which planning officers vowed will make the site "unlikely" to impact residents "beyond what would be expected from the previous use".
The exception to this condition will be for Ramadan prayers, however, while a condition will also be put in place to prevent any amplified calls to prayer.
The Pub History Project website says that in the late 1990s and early 2000s, The Glen became overrun with what police described as a gang of thugs who intimidated landlords.
Six or seven licensees left over a three-year period and this culminated in its closure late in 2005.
The Glen later reopened, before finally closing after Covid in 2023.
