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15
Nov
Harrogate mosque could be ready by February
Harrogate’s new mosque is nearing completion, and stakeholders hope to get it ready to open to worshippers by Ramadan in mid-February, according to a source close to the project.
The roof is now secure and new windows have been installed, ready for the winter weather. There remains relatively little yet to do – finishing the electrics and plumbing are the two main tasks to be completed before the building is usable.
The building in 2023.
The town’s mosque has been a long time coming. Harrogate Islamic Association, which was established in 2011, originally planned to convert the former Nidderdale Children's Resource Centre in Starbeck, but encountered planning problems. It then set its sights on a hall attached to Trinity Methodist Church on Park Drive, but that too fell through.
It submitted plans for the conversion of the former Home Guard Club on Belford Road in 2021, but work has progressed only as quickly as the community has been able to raise the funds to pay for it.
The mosque premises have served the community in various ways over the last one-and-a-half centuries.
The building had to be completely gutted, asbestos removed, a new roof installed, and new floors fitted – before any plastering, electrical work or plumbing could start.
Until the mosque is completed, the town’s Muslim community will continue to worship at the Friends’ Meeting House on Queen Parade in Harrogate.
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