Mosque gets go-ahead for temporary morgue

Jama Mosque, in Newhampton Road, was granted planning approval for the new outbuilding which will also be used to wash and prepare corpses in line with Muslim practice.

At present, the site consists of the mosque, a large car park at the rear and several shipping container storage units. The planning application was made by  Nasir Abbas from the Hussaini Islamic Mission.

A statement from Wolverhampton-based Thorne Architecture, acting on behalf of the mosque, said: “The proposal is to remove the existing shipping container units and construct a brick-built outbuilding providing ancillary use to the mosque.

“The new outbuilding will serve as a temporary morgue with facilities for  corpse washing and the preparation of bodies in line with the religious practice of the mosque. This facility will rarely be used – approximately three or four  times a year, it is estimated.

“Two parking spaces will be removed in order to accommodate the new building, which will be approximately 2.8 metres high and therefore have no detrimental impact on adjacent properties.”

Granting approval, planning officer Stephen Alexander said: “This is a single-storey brick building in the rear corner of the site. The proposal involves the laying out of the car park, the landscaping of the site and the repair and repointing of the existing brick boundary wall. All the material planning issues raised by neighbours have been carefully considered.

“There will not be an impact on the street scene, neighbours’ amenities or highway safety that would have justified a reason for refusing the application. The proposal is acceptable in accordance with the development plan.”