Historic pub to be turned into mosque to 'cater for local Muslim community's needs'

A Labour-run council has granted permission for an historic pub in Blackburn to be converted into a mosque.

Blackburn with Darwen Council's Planning and Highways Committee gave the green light for the Hare and Hounds on Lammack Road to become a place of worship on Thursday.

The pub, which originally welcomed customers in 1799 and poured its last pint in October, had been unable to find a new landlord and repeatedly failed to generate a profit.

Its closure marked the end of an era for Dutton's Brewery, as the Hare and Hounds was both one of the brewery's earliest significant pubs and its last remaining establishment.

The Lammack Community Association, which has the backing of the Issa brothers, who founded forecourt convenience store giants EG Group, submitted plans for the vacant site in January through Urban Future Planning.

The group had outgrown its existing religious premises, across the road from the pub.

An officer's report presented to the committee said: "This premises is no longer considered fit for purpose due to its modest size.

"Therefore, its relocation to the proposal building would provide an expanded and better-quality facility which would continue to cater for the needs of the local Muslim community."

Applicants pointed out that efforts to revive the pub's fortunes, including council permission to introduce a cafe in 2024, had not stopped it operating at a loss.

They attributed the pub's long-term decline to demographic changes in the Beardwood with Lammack ward over the past 25 years.

Under the approved plans, an adjoining shed will be demolished and replaced with a new single-storey extension wrapping around the side of the building.

This extension will house toilets and washing facilities for worshippers before they enter the ground-floor prayer room.

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The upper floor of the former pub will accommodate an office, kitchen, library and storage for the community group.

The council's highways department flagged serious concerns about parking during the application process, estimating that roughly 52 spaces would be needed for the mosque.

The proposed wraparound extension actually reduced on-site parking from eight spaces to just six, compounding the shortfall.

Several neighbours lodged objections, with traffic and parking cited as their primary worries - though many expressed support for the building's new purpose as a place of worship.

A formal arrangement with the neighbouring Queen Elizabeth Grammar School was struck to address the parking deficit.

Worshippers at the current site already use the lower car park at the school's playing fields when their own spaces are full.

The community association now has a written agreement permitting the use of up to 50 parking spaces at the school site when the new mosque is up and running.

Planning committee members imposed several conditions requiring the parking arrangements to be fully resolved before the building can reopen in its new role.

They further restricted the premises from hosting social functions, wedding receptions, funerals or operating as a madrasa, or place of study, to try and clamp down on traffic.

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