Plans to demolish a Hindu temple in North London and build a new one in its place have been given the go-ahead, providing a water pipe running directly below it can be repaired first. The watercourse is on the brink of collapse, and failing to fix the pipe could cause serious flooding in the area.
Approval with Conditions
Harrow Council has approved plans to build a new temple by demolishing the existing Shri Sithi Vinayagar Thevasthanam Temple on Nibthwaite Road in Marlborough. The current building was originally a warehouse, but developers want to replace it with a new, modern, high-quality purpose-built temple. The application was recommended for approval only because the temple is already there and functioning; otherwise, council officers would have taken a different view.
While the council's Planning Committee green-lit the proposals, construction work on building the new place of worship cannot begin until 40 meters of water piping underneath the temple has been replaced. The council's drainage consent team said that failure to do so can cause serious flooding, meaning the current building is allowed to be demolished while the works take place, but they would then have to reassess whether the new temple could be built over the watercourse.
Concerns from Councillors
The site is located at the end of a service road behind a number of residential back gardens, which Cllr Mike Williams described as not an obvious location for a temple. The new building would also be substantially taller than the existing one, reaching a height of 9.4 meters, so Cllr Williams was surprised there had not been more objections. He added: "If I was living close to it, I'd be worried about the hours of worship and the comings and goings. The scale and ambition of this new development is somewhat larger. It's certainly much, much taller. It has a bigger capacity. There comes a point where that becomes unsustainable."
He questioned what had been done to safeguard the rights of people who joined this site, noting that while they are used to the existing temple operation, this is bigger. The officer said that assessments were carried out regarding the impact the size of the new building would have on nearby houses, which concluded that it wouldn't adversely impact in terms of light and outlook. They also said that the capacity of the temple remains unchanged, but the committee can now enforce a maximum capacity of 150 people.
Support for the Development
Cllr Anjana Patel, who was elected as the Vice Chair of the Planning Committee at the start of the meeting, welcomed the development. She said: "This is a really good proposal by the applicant because the buildings were quite old and by putting up the new building it will be more secure with the place and it will be even safer for the devotees as well."
The plans were ultimately approved unanimously by the committee. After the decision, Chair of the committee and Deputy Leader of the council, Cllr Marilyn Ashton, said: "I think this is a nice improvement. I hope it works out with a water course problem, that is something we can't really do anything about here. But certainly from my own personal perspective, I'm absolutely delighted to be able to grant this application and I think it will improve the experience of the devotees of the temple."
