BNP will not use London Colney mosque dispute to score a political point

A controversial proposal to create a mosque in London Colney – which provoked objections from around 180 residents – was rejected at a planning meeting last night, with councillors keen to prevent the far right British National Party scoring political points on the back of the issue.

Residents turned out in force to oppose an Islamic Centre in the village, citing parking, traffic issues, road safety and noise as the prime objections.

Members of the Bangladeshi community, who also attended to hear the decision, had applied to change the use of Cemex House in Barnet Road, close to Riverside Industrial Estate, to accommodate up to 50 worshippers. But residents feared the facility would attract more visitors than indicated in the application, and that numbers could not be controlled. After hearing representations from both parties, councillors sitting on the district council's plans south committee refused the application, despite recommendations from an inspector to approve the proposals.

But district councillor Dreda Gordon, who represents London Colney ward, stole an opportunity to scupper the BNP's political campaign while opposing the plans on behalf of residents. She said the extremist party, which is seeking to gain a foothold in the village, had used the dispute as a golden ticket to canvass support. London Colney is a tolerant community and over the years it has accommodated people from many ethnic back grounds," she said.

"These various groups made London Colney their home. They raised their children there, we are a culturally diverse community. People have worked and lived alongside each other in this area. I don't want decent and tolerate people branded with loathsome politics of the far right which have raised their ugly head on this issue."

But speaking to the Review after the meeting, actor Philip Madoc, who has lived in Waterside for 30 years, said: “The reasons aren’t biased, they’re logical. I’m not interested in whether it’s a mosque, or a synagogue or a big Welsh chapel, it is of no interest to me. It’s an establishment in the silliest place. The village is a delightful place and old London Colney has got character. This summer has been the best I have ever seen it. It’s a glorious place and we want to preserve that or improve that. I hope that it will be as is.”

The application follows years of failed attempts to establish a mosque in the village to serve the Muslim community, who currently congregate at the Morris Playing Fields Pavillion. Fahim Karim, Chairman of London Colney’s Islamic Centre, said: “We are disappointed and we are disheartened. There was no planning issue, they had to scratch to find a planning excuse. They refused it with no grounds. We are going to appeal and then someone outside the district will decide.”

BNP member Danny Seabrook, who is vying for a seat on London Colney Parish Council following the death of Robin Cooper, insisted the planning decision would not derail his party's election campaign. Mr Seabrook, 37, whose party has been accused of inciting racial hatred after distributing 'offensive' leaflets to homes in the village, insisted his focus, if elected, would be the proposed railfreight terminal in Radlett.

St Albans and Harpenden Review

Hate crime fears over new London Colney mosque

Vicious leaflets aimed at keeping a mosque out of London Colney have been referred to the police's harm reduction unit. Police are now examining the British National Party (BNP) leaflets headed up "Do you want to live under an oppressive Islamic Sharia government?" as a possible incitement to racial hatred.

The leaflets were delivered to homes in London Colney claiming a planning application to turn Cemex House in Barnet Road into a mosque was part of a wider plot to turn St Albans into an Islamic city. The large site - around 1,900 square metres - with provision for 33 car parking spaces consists of two separate parcels of land on either side of Lowbell Lane.

The man behind the leaflets is Danny Seabrook, 36, a divorced self-employed builder who lives in London Colney. He stood as a county council candidate for the BNP recently in Watford. He denies incitement to racial hatred saying the leaflets are "factual and to the point". He went on: "A mosque would be out of keeping in the village. St Albans is a Christian city. You give an inch and they take a mile. They'll have minarets up there next."

Some of the propagandist language used in the leaflet includes accusations that politicians pander to Islamists' every demand and the majority of residents want to keep the area as it is now.

County Cllr for London Colney, Chris Brazier, said: "This is detestable and I don't think there would have been this reaction if the plan was to turn it into a Christian church. The BNP do seem to be targeting London Colney since they picked up 200 votes in the recent county council elections."

Cllr Brazier conceded that he had received almost 100 letters from residents opposing the plans on legitimate planning grounds including traffic fears, narrowness of the access road, insufficient parking and noise. He maintained there was no suggestion of racism in any of the moderately-worded letters. He said the application had aroused fears that such a large mosque would attract significant numbers of visitors from outside the area, raising traffic and parking issues for residents.

But Peter Trevelyan, acting for the London Colney Islamic Group which has submitted the application, said: "Having been frustrated in its search for suitable premises, the local community currently uses the parish meeting room on White Horse Lane once a week for Friday prayers. The main hall is small and inconvenient in shape and, with 50 people present, is cramped and over-crowded."

He said prayers would take place five times a day but the principal focus for prayer would be at 1pm on Fridays when attendance varied between 40 and 50 men and a handful of women. The majority would walk to the site from homes and employment nearby. But council officers have recommended to a planning meeting on Monday that the scheme should be approved because there would be adequate off street parking and no acceptable harm to highway safety or the free and safe flow of traffic.

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