http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1271118/18m-West-Midlands-mega-mosque-plans-scrapped.htmlPlans have been scrapped for an £18million mosque featuring a 65ft-high minaret in the town centre of a West Midlands town.
The decision over the facility proposed for Dudley was announced yesterday, after protesters stormed the site to make their feelings heard.
Two members of the far-right English Defence League scaled the roof of a derelict building that was to be converted into a mosque yesterday waving anti-Muslim banners.
They climbed to the rooftop on Sunday evening as dozens of protesters gathered at the site after an internet campaign by the EDL.
That evening around 30 masked protesters were ordered off the site as fights broke out. A police officer and local teenager were taken to hospital for minor injuries after the clashes
Several EDL members clambered onto the roof of the building, which had been earmarked for the super mosque development.
The protest came just a month after 2,000 of far-right EDL protesters descended on Dudley to march against Islamic extremism.
Some bashed down metal fences, threw metal brackets at police and even fought with their own stewards who were trying to calm them down.
Chief Inspector Matt Markham from West Midlands Police said the two men were 'helping police with enquiries'.
Earlier, he said: 'We have always facilitated peaceful protests by members of the EDL and other organisations, but we do not welcome this kind of protest.
'Our priorities are to minimise any disruption to the local community in Dudley and to prevent any further incidents of disorder from occurring.
'Our message to anyone thinking of turning up with the intention of causing disorder is not to, as we have police resources available and any such activity will be dealt with swiftly and robustly.'
The mosque, which would have been built on derelict land, would have had a 65ft minaret, and the proposals have been dogged by controversy from the beginning,
Two petitions of more than 50,000 signatures were gathered in opposition.
Residents who objected said the mosque would dominate the skyline and be out of keeping with the town’s medieval character.
They also objected to the mosque being built on land designated for employment use.
Dudley Council threw out the application in 2007, but it was granted at an appeal the following year by a government inspector.
In 2009 the council launched a High Court bid against the inspector’s decision but the judge upheld the ruling, granting outline planning permission.
Deputy council leader, Les Jones, told a local paper today that the Muslim Association had instead agreed to develop their existing site after months of delicate negotiations.
He said: 'The current mosque is not really fit for purpose and we have been working with them to come up with some plans and would have been looking to submit an outline planning application in the next few months.'
Despite claiming to have the support of Dudley residents, locals today branded the EDL protest as 'racist' and 'a waste of police time'.
Sarah Williams, 23, said: 'They're just here to cause trouble, these people, and playing that music like that is outrageous and racist. They are just asking for trouble.
'These people just want to live here peacefully.'
Topic: Plans scrapped for £18m 'mega mosque' in West Midlands (Read 528 times)