Dudley Central Mosque left with 'no choices' in search for new site
Dudley's Central Mosque has been left with 'no choices' over a long-awaited move to a new site following a bitter row which dragged on for years with the borough council, a senior member has said.
Muhammed Ammar Khan said the the Muslim community was stuck with a building which was no longer suitable for its needs and said it was 'testing times'.
A battle over plans for a new mosque on Hall Street dragged on for more than a decade before finally being thrown out. Muslim leaders have been trying to leave the town's main mosque on Birmingham Road for 20 years in search of a bigger space.
But there is growing frustration among Muslim leaders over the future of the mosque. Revamping the current building is thought to be unlikely.
The Dudley Muslim Association (DMA) was forced to admit defeat two years ago over Hall Street when the saga was finally brought to an end.
But officials hoped they would be able to work with Dudley Council to assess alternative options for the future of the mosque.
Council bosses have insisted they would be willing to listen to any proposals.
Mr Khan, a member and former treasurer at the central mosque, said: "We need a replacement mosque. The current facilities are not there but we are a charity. We can't compete with the local authority or anyone else, we don't have the funds. We can't spend £1 million to buy land.
"Hall Street was the best option for us. We have no choices left.
"The current building is listed and is next to the bus station and a dual carriageway. We can't do anything with the current building.
"It is a very sad situation. It leaves us nowhere.
"It is very testing times for the community."
Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley said: "We haven't spoken to anyone from the DMA despite the council writing to them.
"We are always willing to sit down and talk to them about other proposals but they have to contact us."
The battle over Hall Street left a sour taste with some members of the Muslim community who felt they had been hard done by.
The DMA submitted its controversial plans for Hall Street back in 2003 after giving away sites it owned in land swap agreements with the council.
The dispute ended up in the courts and was finally put to bed in 2015 when Court of Appeal judges unanimously ruled in favour of Dudley Council over its move to buy back the land in Hall Street from the DMA.
