A former nursing home in a Salford conservation area is to be extended and converted into a religious education hub. The derelict two-storey care home building at Lower Broughton Road in Broughton will become a complex of three apartments and a Yeshiva - for boys of the Hasidic Jewish faith aged between 16 and 18.
It will focus on the teaching of religious texts through classes and lectures. The community will also be able to use the Beis Hamedrash space to study.
Capacity will be limited to 40 students with three full-time staff, operating between 7am to 8pm with occasional opening until 11pm for worship during religious events. Members of the city’s planning and transportation regulatory panel approved the plans despite objections from nearby residents.
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One said there had been insufficient consultation with the local community while another said the building would be an ‘eyesore’. Meanwhile, one said: “There are several schools in the vicinity.
"There is an over-concentration of such uses, which makes the area feel like a campus and not a residential area.” Another said: “The traffic and disruption will impact on lives.
"Traffic calming measures like yellow lines and speed bumps slow vehicles down making it harder for residents to use their own cars.”
“This is a faith school,” said one. “It will operate on a Sunday when the area should be quiet and peaceful. This erodes the character of the area.”
However, the plan was unanimously approved by the panel. Coin John Warmisham said: “I welcome this. I drive past this horrendous building every day.
“To see something like this come forward can only be welcomed. It is much needed in the area.” But Coun Warmisham did recommend some ‘junction protection’ around nearby Griffin Street and Oak Road which he said was ‘very narrow’.
Coun Mike McCusker said while he ‘understands’ residents’ concerns he particularly liked the way the application had been brought to the panel, taking in their fears and reversing a proposal to fell four trees. And he added: “Wouldn't it be great if all planning applications did that, and everyone ended up happy with the outcome?”
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