There is a lot of online speculation and misinformation around plans for the Havering Mosque, proposed by the local Islamic community.
Below I outline what is happening and the context. Please take the time to read this through and please share it to help combat fake news.
The Background
Romford already has a mosque, in almost every sense of the word, it just isn't called a mosque.
The Havering Islamic Cultural Centre (HICC) sits in the Bridge Close industrial site, right up against the railway line. It's an old industrial building that is packed during prayers. The site is also used for a lot of community events and charitable work, such as a well attended soup-kitchen.
The HICC had plans to redevelop their building, using their own funds. These plans were to make the site suitable, so that local muslims were not praying in a run-down warehouse and attached veranda. They drew up plans and they started fundrasing.
The HICC has been supported by the community for some time, with local politicians often attending events there.
Havering Council, however, had other plans.
The Bridge Close industrial site was eyed up by Havering for a massive redevelopment. The council began the process of compulsory purchasing (CPO) buildings on the industrial estate, forcing them to sell. HICC didn't want to sell and, when plans were submitted by the council, members of the community there objected to them.
Havering's plans proposed a 'community centre', located next to the Homebase roundabout. It would have been surrounded by dense housing and be totally unsuitable for what HICC needed. Especially as it would have had next to no parking. Havering's plans also didn't indicate that the site would be exclusively for HICC.
So, Havering council began discussions to get HICC to move.
The Havering Mosque site
What you may have been reading is that there will be a mosque built on the old Brickyard site, at the junction of South Street and the ring-road.
This site was identified as one of the few locations that HICC could relocate to. Remember, they didn't want to move, they wanted to redevelop what they had. Partly because they were outgrowing it.
Conversations are ongoing, but the rough outline of them is that Havering will purchase the new site for HICC. It will then make a contribution towards redeveloping the site to make it suitable for HICC.
Consider this scenario:
Your family is growing and so you plan to extend your family home. It's in the perfect location, close to schools and doctors etc. You don't want to move. You draw up plans for the extension but are then forced to sell your home to a developer.
In return, the developer tells you they have a new home for you. It's not what you want or like, it's in a worse location. Would you accept that or fight?
You'd fight!
Imagine then the developer tells you they have found you a new home. But, it's run down and you will need to spend a lot of money to make it the family home you had planned for in the first place.
This is what our Muslim residents were forced into. Forced to sell, offered a poor site, and finally offered a site that will need a huge amount spend on it to get what they had planned for in the first place.
Council Finances
But isn't the council bankrupt and, if we are, why should they give anything towards the mosque?
First, no, Havering isn't bankrupt. The short explanation is that the council has two budgets, by law. One for housing and infrastructure (ish) and another for day to day things. It's the day to day that has got a deficit. The other budget is all loans, to build homes etc. Havering Council has over £100m of planned spending in that budget.
That budget is what is being used to force HICC to move out, as well as everyone else who is on Bridge Close. Including homeowners who live alongside the site. Havering has already spent £millions buying up land in that area.
So why give extra money to HICC, if you're buying their site?
A Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) is a legal mechanism for taking control of a site. In the legal agreement, which can reach court if not agreed by both sides, there is a process for compensation. Anyone forcing a CPO must do what is known as 'mitigating your losses', so they need to cover the cost of your relocation.
Think back to my scenario above, where you've been forced to move to a semi-derelict home. Simply being given the value of your house isn't enough. You have to rebuild just to get what you already had, let alone what you had planned to extend your original home to.
This is why Havering is making a contribution, as yet undefined, towards the new Havering Mosque.
No, Havering Council is not giving them £4.5m. The £4.5m figure you are reading about is the shortfall, after the HICC gets compensation from the council. In other words, the local Muslim community will still need to fundraise £4.5m to build what they want to on that site. They still need to apply for planning permission etc.
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Conclusion
Havering has forced HICC to leave their current home, a home they wanted to develop into something better. Havering did so in order to build flats next to the railway line, making them £millions in profit.
Havering has prevented HICC from taking advantage of land value increases, that they would have enjoyed if they had stayed where they wanted to.
So, Havering is doing the decent thing and providing HICC with a new site and some compensation (not £4.5m).
The plans are not final. The site hasn't been purchased. The mosque will still need planning permission.
HICC are a real plus for the community. They support a huge number of vulnerable residents with their community work, such as the soup kitchen, and they are even involved in fundraising for St Francis Hospice. They have been a part of the community since 2007 and not once has there been any trouble with them.
Havering is not showing HICC or the local Muslim community any bias, it is not subsidising the construction of a mosque.
Havering is rightfully compensating HICC, for forcing them out of a prime piece of land, in order to build flats on it.
I welcome the plans for Romford's Muslim community to finally have a decent place to pray. Like my fellow church-goers, Muslims want their place of worship to be something beautiful. Many new churches, up and down the UK, buy and renovate warehouses. Many redevelop them into stunning buildings as their congregations grow. Local Muslims simply wanted to do the same.
We must treat all races and religions with the same respect. If a local church was forced to sell their site, to be turned into flats, then I'd argue that they too should be compensated.
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