PLANS to build a new mosque on a busy road in the West Bowling area of Bradford have been refused due to potential “noise and disturbance” issues affecting nearby residents.

The charity Madrassah Noor Ul Quran, formed in 2010, had applied to knock down a derelict bungalow on the Parkside Road site and replace it with a two-storey place of worship, which would have offered praying facilities alongside after-school educational programmes for local children.

The building is fenced off and boarded up in a bid to prevent fly-tipping and vandalism.

In a design statement supporting the plans, the charity said opening and closing times of the proposed facility would vary throughout the year depending on the changing pattern of prayer times, with some as early as 2.30am and as late as 11pm.

The organisation already operates from a small building on Parkside Road, and said the new site would be “ideal for increased employment opportunities and community development.”

The application attracted more than 300 comments online, with 227 in support of the new development and 84 against.

Those arguing for the facility said it was “essential” for communities in the area, and would help to “promote respect for elders and neighbours”, as well as reducing levels of crime and drug use.

Letters and a petition in opposition to the mosque cited the likelihood of noise problems for residents, a lack of parking and increased congestion on the street, and the argument that there were already a sufficient amount of places of worship in the local area.

The application went before the Bradford Area Planning Panel, where it was dismissed by members.

Objections were raised by the Council’s environmental health team that the site would operate outside the hours of 7.30am and 8pm.

In a letter outlining the reasons for refusal, Julian Jackson, Bradford Council’s assistant director for planning, transportation, and highways, wrote: “The proposed mosque would be likely to result in a large number of comings and goings of visitors, potentially late into the evenings and/or in the early mornings, which would result in noise and disturbance to the detriment of the residential amenity of the present and future occupiers of nearby residential dwellings.”