Legal action threat over using former library as mosque

The lease was offered to the Monmouthshire Muslim Community Association

Three councillors and a resident have threatened legal action over a decision for a former library to be used as a mosque.

Monmouthshire council's cabinet agreed to grant a 30-year lease for the empty Abergavenny Library to the Monmouthshire Muslim Community Association in June of this year.

Conservative councillors Louise Brown, Rachel Buckler, independent Simon Howarth and local resident John Hardwick have brought about the legal challenge.

Monmouthshire County Council confirmed it recieved a pre-action letter and said it cannot provide further comment to an ongoing legal matter.

The four are being supported by the Christian Legal Centre after contacting advocacy body Christian Concern, according the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A statement issued by the body detailed questions over the £6,000 a year lease which were answered when a council committee considered the "call in" the three had requested of the Labour-led cabinet's decision to grant the lease.

The statement quoted Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, who said the case "raises serious questions about transparency, fairness, and the proper use of public assets".

According to the statement the only issue raised in the pre-action letter, that wasn't considered during the call in review, are "concerns over religious impartiality".

Devauden member Ms Buckler told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she and her colleagues were dissatisfied with how concerns were addressed during the call in, which included part of a meeting being held in confidential session.

Cllr Buckler described the Christian Legal Centre as a "very good organisation" and that it "makes sense to collaborate with them" but said the challenge isn't a religious issue.

She added their "whole point is no organisation should be treated with any more favour than any other.

"It is not about a Christian agenda it's about the fact a lease was awarded, as far as we can see, for a peppercorn rent for 30 years for an incredibly important civic building that was given to the people by the Carnegie Trust in 1905."

Reverend Gareth Wilde, a retired Baptist minister and a Labour member of Abergavenny Town Council, who is in favour of granting the lease, said he found it "surprising" the challenge was being supported by a body that describes itself as advocating for Christians.

"It seems more like a governance or spending issue. It does seem a little bit muddled," he said.

Speaking in a personal capacity, Rev Wilde said he'd given the historical and Christian arguments for why the lease should be granted when he addressed the committee.

He added he believed the Muslim Association should be given a "priority" as they currently do not have a dedicated place of worship, having to rent the Catholic church hall.

The call in committee agreed the lease decision should be sent back to the cabinet, which stood by its original decision.

The community association will also be responsible for repairs and maintenance, which the cabinet member responsible, Ben Callard, described it as a "huge commitment" that made the lease unattractive to businesses.

In the build up to June's meeting, the former library was vandalised with anti-muslim messages.

According to Christian Concern the council has until 19 September to respond to the letter before any formal legal proceedings begin.