A MOSQUE that was set up without permission in an old publishing house is being given an ultimatum by planners.

The people running the mosque and madrassa, in the former Emerald building in Toller Lane, Bradford, had applied for permission for the change of use retrospectively.

But they will be told to prove they can use nearby land as a car park or face having their plan refused.

Bradford Area Planning Panel discussed the matter at a meeting at City Hall yesterday.

The plan was recommended for refusal, with planning officer Mark Hutchinson saying a lack of car parking on the site could lead to 30 cars having to park on Toller Lane.

He said the former Emerald site was now divided into two, with one of its buildings being used as the mosque, and the other being used as a house, which "doesn't have planning permission either".

The meeting heard the occupant of this house had agreed to let worshippers park on his land, and a nearby wedding venue had made a similar commitment.

But the applicants had refused to get this nailed down in a legal agreement, the meeting heard.

Ward councillor Imran Hussain (Lab, Toller), speaking in favour of the application, said this was down to cost.

"These agreements are very expensive agreements," he said.

His ward colleague, Councillor Arshad Hussain (Lab, Toller), also asked the panel to approve the plan.

He said the mosque had been operating for at least two years, during which time there had been no highways safety problems.

The meeting broke off as the panel went to look at the site.

But the applicants did not return to City Hall when the panel reconvened.

Panel members said it was a shame they hadn't come back, and decided to ask them to produce a legal agreement for the parking, by the end of January, or the plan would be refused.

Meanwhile, a retrospective plan for a new shop in nearby Duckworth Lane, Girlington, was withdrawn.

Applicant Tariq Mahmood is expected to come back with revised plans for the proposed estate agency, where work has begun.

Bradford Bazaar, in Cemetery Road, Bradford, was granted permission to open until midnight the night before Eid, to let people do last-minute shopping.

And a family who recently had triplets were given permission for a two-storey extension after councillors heard how overcrowded their home now was.

Applicant Roveen Khan, of Aston Road, West Bowling, Bradford, said her three toddlers needed more space.

She said: "They're all on top of one another."

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