Gurdwara plan for industrial estate unit
GoogleSikhs in North Oxfordshire could have a new place of worship if a plan to move to a unit on an industrial estate gets the go-ahead.
The Gurdwara Sahib Banbury has applied to use the unit in Thorpe Close in the town after "outgrowing" its current gurdwara in West Street, where it has been based since 1992.
It said that "despite continuous efforts and multiple meetings" with Cherwell District Council to find a suitable new venue, no other viable solution has been found.
Other sites, including land next to the Muskeeter pub, have been dismissed as unviable over recent decades.
Balbir Singh Dhesi, the president of Gurdwara Sahib Banbury, said using the unit in Thorpe Close is "a rare and viable opportunity" that would "serve the community while contributing positively to the local economy and industrial estate".
No funerals would be conducted at the site and most services would take place on Sunday mornings.
The current gurdwara in West Street has only on-street parking but the Thorpe Close site offers eight allocated parking spaces.
Cherwell District Council is due to make a decision on the application sometime in June.
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