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Detailed plans for a mosque on an old dairy site in Lincoln have been submitted to city hall.
Full planning permission is now being sought for the place of worship at the old Boultham Park Dairy.
If approved, the mosque would comprise 1,019 square metres of floor space over two storeys.
It would be made from yellow-coloured brick, to purposely mirror the colour of Lincolnshire limestone used in many civic and public buildings in Lincoln.
Its position off Dixon Street would be arranged around the need in Islam to angle the direction of prayer towards Mecca, which from Lincoln is 120.08 degrees.
The Islamic Association of Lincoln’s £500,000-plus project was approved in principle nearly a year ago.
At the same time, a new supermarket on the site was agreed and a housing scheme won outline permission.
Dr Tanweer Ahmed, trustee of the association, said: “We are very pleased that we have got to this new stage after waiting for so long.
“The Muslim community is very excited and happy that we are going to the next stage now of applying for full planning permission.
“We feel a desperate need to have our own purpose-built building as our place of worship, rather than hiring out the Grandstand.
“The building will be accessible to the wider community. We would really like to engage and integrate with other members of the community.”
It is anticipated the mosque will open in about two years’ time.
The plan includes a small regular praying hall for worship five times a day, which will open into a larger community hall to create one big space for Friday.
There will also be a dedicated prayer room for women and a library and classrooms.
A previous mosque scheme on the corner of Church Drive was rejected three years ago over traffic concerns.
The mosque and the supermarket will be accessed from Dixon Street and the housing from Boultham Park Road.
There will be about 140 car parking spaces on the site.
Jean Flannery, chairman of Boultham Residents’ Association, has some questions about the scheme.
“We want to know if the road improvements promised will be carried out before any building work on the site is undertaken,” she said
“We would also like to know accurate outside dimensions for the mosque and an assurance that parking will be adequate.
“Overall, I think the mosque looks quite pleasant and I am pleased to see that within the plans there’s mention of a community hall being available for use by the local community.”
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