Mosque expansion plans - including minaret tower - approved for Sunderland street

Plans for new and improved facilities at a Sunderland mosque have been given the green light by city development chiefs.

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has approved an application for the Hendon Jama Mosque Islamic Society.

The terraced property, which sits on the corner of Salisbury Street and Laura Street in the Hendon area, was established as a mosque in the 1980s.

The site was originally two separate properties which were later joined together, with proposed works at the site aiming to increase internal spaces to “allow for more worshippers”.

Fresh plans for the site, submitted last year, included a proposed two-storey rear extension, a single-storey rear/side extension and a ‘minaret’, or tower structure, on the front corner of the building.

Council planning documents state the development would “reconfigure and simplify” internal space, providing a “more direct entrance, accessible wc, and increased prayer space, including an overflow area within the second-floor roof space”.

Those behind the scheme said the minaret tower also aims to provide a “symbolic identity and a reflection of the Muslim community who are living [in] local surroundings”.

During a council public consultation exercise on the application, one letter of objection was received raising a number of concerns.

This included the development “exacerbating” existing parking issues in the area, and potential “noise nuisance”.

After considering the planning application and assessing it against planning policies, Sunderland City Council’s planning department approved it on January 15, 2024.

Council planning officers, in a decision report, said there were no issues with the plans around highway safety and parking, impacts on residential amenity, design and ecology.

On the proposed minaret, the council report added: “The minaret is not an original feature of the building, but it is intended to identify it for its existing purpose.

“It will occupy a highly visible position on the building however, it is not considered to be significantly out of proportion or scale and would not appear as an obtrusive element on the host property”.

Council planners stressed that the building was already established as a mosque and that “existing practices of sound projection cannot be addressed within the context of the current application”.

However, it was noted that any “excessive noise issues” in future would need to be directed to the council’s environmental health team for investigation.

The council decision report added: “The proposal is unlikely to result in any serious detriment to highway safety, the residential amenities of neighbouring properties, or the visual amenities of the host property and the street scene in general.

“Subject to the addition of appropriate conditions, the proposal should not result in any detrimental impacts in terms of land contamination or ecology.”

Under planning conditions, the development must be brought forward within three years.

For more information on the planning application and council decision, visit the council’s planning portal website and search reference: 23/01177/FUL