Developers who had submitted finalised plans for a new mosque in Perth have put plans on hold, withdrawing their blueprints before councillors could rubber stamp the ambitious plans.
The saga surrounding a proposed new mosque in the Fair City has been rumbling on for years now, and had looked to to be drawing to a conclusion when plans were officially lodged in June.
But on Thursday, trustees withdrew their plans on behalf of Perth Islamic Society.
Plans have been discussed for years, but not formalised until this summer.
The idea of a new had sparked hate-fuelled protests by far right group the Scottish Defence League, who hosted a demonstration in Perth city centre opposing the plans just over three years ago.
However, the extremist group were chased out of town by thousands of supporters backing the Islamic Society’s bid for a new home.
The society pushed ahead with preparing blueprints for an opulent new centre, which if approved, would have had a community centre, creche and education centre, along with parking spaces for vehicles and bikes.
Speaking previously, a society spokesperson said: “The main purpose of the building is to provide enhanced place of worship facilities for the community, enabling both male and female to attend all the prayers.
“Prayer sessions are to be morning, lunchtime, mid-afternoon and evening, with 10 to 15 persons attending each prayer session.
But their proposals this summer for a mosque on Jeanfield Road did meet some resistance from neighbours.
The multi-million pound plans made some neighbours raise concerns over the impact an influx of traffic would have on the already busy thoroughfare.
Perth and Kinross Council’s planning department received a handful of letters from denizens, some supporting and some objecting, most of which focusing on parking fears.
But before planning officers or councillors could address these woes, the society announced they would not be proceeding with current plans.
It is unclear if the group will be returning with revised designs, but Perth Islamic society say there are now around 650 members of the local Muslim community, with worshippers currently using an upstairs flat on Glasgow Road to pray in.
