Temple in Willesden withdraws controversial extension plans
Shree Swaminarayan Temple is on the corner of Willesden Lane and Deerhurst Road (Pic credit: Jan Nevill) - Credit: Archant
Residents opposed to plans for the expansion of a Hindu temple in Willesden have sounded relief after the application was scrapped.
Leaders of the Shree Swaminarayan Temple, on the corner of Willesden Lane and Deerhurst Road, withdrew their application last week ahead of a council planning committee meeting on Wednesday that was expected to reach a decision.
The plans, which had been recommended for refusal by Brent Council, requested the extension of the back of the temple, a two-level underground car park with 111 spaces and the demolition of three houses in Deerhurst Road to make way for 30 residential units.
George Binney, chair of Chatsworth Area Residents’ Organisation, who campaigned against the plans, said: “We’re hugely relieved.
“We are not going to be facing the building of the underground car park, it would have been a nightmare.
“There was a lot we were worried about.”
CARO had claimed the car park would have damaged the environment and cause traffic congestion while the accommodation units would have been “ugly.”
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The group also objected to the proposed building on the back gardens of the houses that would have been demolished and said the development was “too big and out of character for a quiet residential area.”
Mr Binney added: “We hope any new plan will take into account the feelings of the residents and the planning officers.
“The car park would have been a disaster for traffic and the environment.”
The Temple refused to comment when contacted by the Times.
