Image Source: OpIndia
The only Hindu temple in the East of England, serving around 13,500 Hindus across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and parts of Lincolnshire, is facing possible closure after the Peterborough City Council decided to sell the property it occupies to pay off municipal debts.
The Bharat Hindu Samaj Temple, located in the New England Complex in Peterborough, has been a religious and cultural centre since its establishment in 1984. The temple management submitted a bid before the council’s Monday night deadline to purchase the entire complex, which consists of seven units.
Temple president Kishor Ladwa said the temple had initially reached an agreement in April with the council to buy the property for £1.3 million, which included a £504,000 discount recognising the social value of its community services. However, in September, the council informed them that other buyers had emerged and that it could no longer offer the complex at the previously agreed amount, asking the temple to increase its bid. The council has not revealed the identities of the other bidders but has suggested that they may be community organisations.
According to Ladwa, the temple has been negotiating with the council for 14 years to secure ownership, but the terms have repeatedly changed. He said the temple wished to avoid becoming a tenant under a new owner and added that despite their willingness to sign a purchase agreement, the council never provided a legally binding contract.
The temple functions as a major community hub, particularly for the elderly. It hosts weekly luncheons, health workshops for dementia and diabetes, and cultural activities such as Bollywood dance, yoga, Zumba, and language classes in Hindi and Gujarati. Members of the management committee have said the facility helps reduce social isolation among older members of the community and saves public funds by providing essential social services.
Temple representatives also noted that the idols consecrated in a week-long ceremony years ago could not easily be relocated if they are forced to vacate the site. Petitions have since gained thousands of signatures urging the council to halt the sale.
Peterborough City Council cabinet member for finance and corporate governance, Councillor Mohammed Jamil, stated that while the council recognises the anxiety among the Hindu community, it must sell community assets on the open market to ensure the best value for taxpayers. He added that if the Bharat Hindu Samaj Temple is not selected as the preferred bidder, its tenancy rights would transfer to the new owner, and it would continue to have legal protections under the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1954.
(Source: Times of India)
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