Home   Bury St Edmunds   News   Article

Subscribe Now

The Vineyard Centre, in Out Westgate, Bury St Edmunds, to be transformed into mosque after plans approved




Plans to convert a vacant building in Bury St Edmunds into a mosque have been approved.

The Bury St Edmunds Islamic Cultural Organisation (BICO) has gained permission to transform the Vineyard Centre, in Out Westgate, into a centre for prayers, education and community activities.

The two-storey venue was built in 1940 for a Baptist church but has changed use multiple times over the last 80 years and was more recently an office.

Plans to turn the Vineyard Centre, in Out Westgate, Bury St Edmunds, into a mosque have been approved. Picture: Submitted
Plans to turn the Vineyard Centre, in Out Westgate, Bury St Edmunds, into a mosque have been approved. Picture: Submitted

The application received 31 letters of support which said the plans would support the Muslim community in Bury by providing a place of worship, education and other community events.

They said there was no designated place of worship in the town for the Muslim faith, with people having to travel to Newmarket or Cambridge.

It would provide facilities for people working at the hospital and patients.

The building was able to facilitate accommodation for the Iman.

There were 22 letters of objection with concerns raised over noise and disturbance, highway safety and parking with fears over increased parking on the public footpath.

Regarding the noise concerns, a West Suffolk Council report said Public Health and Housing had not objected.

It said: “The site is within the development boundary of Bury St Edmunds and sited on one of the main vehicular routes into the town.

“As such a higher level of background noise is expected in such an environment.”

There was no off road parking associated with the proposal, the report said.

Highways had not objected and, given its location, said the proposal could be considered acceptable as a car free development in accordance with Suffolk Guidance for Parking (2023).