Close to a thousand people have gathered outside Stratford Old Town Hall ahead of a meeting to decide on plans for a “mega mosque” in West Ham.
Most of those gathered are supporters holding banners and posters outside the Town Hall on Broadway ahead of the council meeting, which starts at 7pm.
A small counter protest against the mosque has gathered on the opposite side of the road guarded by police officers.
The plans to erect the Riverine Centre, also known as Abbey Mills Mosque, put forward by trustees following the Tabilighi Jamaat movement, are due to be heard by the Strategic Development Committee.
At 29,227sq m the complex is more than three times the floorspace of St Paul’s Cathedral.
The development includes a segregated space for nearly 2,000 women, a library, dining hall, visitors’ centre, eight flats for imams and guests, along with tennis courts, a garden, and a riverside walk along Abbey Creek.
Council officers have recommended that controversial plans for the mosque in West Ham be rejected.
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