A community centre in Gorse Hill has been asked to think again about its application for new access and parking.

The Punjabi Community Centre in Gorse Hill shares a site with the Shri Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sikh Temple between Cricklade Road and the A4311 dual carriageway with what was designed to be a shared access from Kembrey Street.

There is another access to the site nearer the community centre from Cricklade Road – but that is designated solely for deliveries to the community centre to allow it to receive meat and alcohol for its functions without the delivery vehicles entering the grounds of the temple with goods prohibited from the Gurdwara in Sikhism

Relations between the centre and the temple have become somewhat strained, in recent years and the centre made its application last year saying the temple had closed the gate between the two parts of the site, meaning visitors had to walk around to Cricklade Road.

It asked for permission to use the second entrance as its main access. And as part of that. it said it would designate six parking spaces alongside the access, where up to 12 cars can park now.

Auran Vadi, a trustee of the centre, said although the gate between the two parts of the site was now opened that it was closed at 8pm every evening, which caused inconvenience to centre users. He said: “We don’t have a problem with the temple, we use the temple ourselves.

“But the community centre looks after and serves all the Gorse Hill community. We need the access to be open between 9am and 11pm.”

Speaking for the Gurdwara, Chas Sunner said there had been a number of incidences of users of the community centre smoking, drinking, and even urinating on the Temple grounds, and such actions were very disrespectful to the temple and its congregation and their religion.

He asked the committee to refuse the application and for the council to investigate the management of the community centre.

There were other objections to the plan, mainly on grounds of road safety in Cricklade Road, and Mark Butler, who runs the electric bike shop across the road said the reduction in the parking alongside the access would damage his and other businesses. Mr Butler and other objectors said it should be possible to come up with a compromise solution – but no details were presented to the committee.

Ward councillor John Ballman, who had called in the application to the committee, wrote to say that when the access arrangements were made in 2005, It was deemed that Cricklade Road was too busy to be the main access, and it was only created to respect the religious sensitivities of the temple.

His letter added that since then Cricklade Road had become much busier.

Members of the committee were reminded that they could only approve or refuse the application on planning grounds.

Councillor Gary Sumner was told by the attending highways officer that there would be no objection to leaving the parking arrangements as they are.

The officer said planning policies had changed since the original consent was given, including a presumption in favour of development and there were no highway reasons for refusing the plan.

Cllr Sumner proposed that a decision on the application be deferred for two months specifically to allow the Punjabi Community Centre to reconsider the parking arrangements on the access road from Cricklade Road.

That was passed by 11 votes to one against.

The next planning committee meeting is scheduled for January 14 2025.

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