Author: Mark Hookham
Publication: http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk
Date: June 18, 2004
URL: http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=14344009&method=full&siteid=50061&headline=hindu-temple-may-give-way-to-pound-6m-road-scheme-name_page.html
Merseyside's only Hindu temple faces
demolition as part of a proposed £6m road project, the Daily Post
can reveal.
The temple, which is attended by
450 families from across the North West, could be pulled down to make way
for a widened Edge Lane in Kensington.
City planners hope to create a widened
expressway which will allow better access to Liverpool city centre from
the east in time for Capital of Culture year 2008.
The planned widening near the Holt
Road area would also see the purchase and then demolition of 250 terraced
homes.
The controversial plans by Liverpool
Land Development Company (LLDC) will be unveiled to residents on Monday
as part of a two-day public consultation.
In the absence of agreed property
sales homes will be served compulsory purchase orders.
The first demolitions would start
in two years time if the scheme receives planning approval.
The Hindu temple, which is run by
the Hindu Cultural Organisation, has been on its present site, a former
Welsh Presbyterian Chapel, since 1978.
Temple manager Kiran Khaneja said
she was "shocked" by the news.
She added: "All we have been told
is that there are a series of meetings planned but nothing has been mentioned
about this.
"I am shocked really. We have families
travelling to us from as far as Chester. At the moment this location is
not big enough for our needs but what will the alternative be?"
Dr Ajit Kumar, executive member
of the Merseyside Council of Faiths, said: "There has been talk of the
temple being demolished but no formal plans have been put forward yet."
Liverpool council leader Mike Storey
said he hoped a settlement could be made with the temple managers.
He added: "While we have turned
away from wholesale demolition, there are occasionally things that are
upsetting. We will have to make sure we work things out for the Hindu temple."
The Edge Lane project would stretch
from the Rocket junction to Hall Lane.
The first series of work would involve
Edge Lane Drive from the Rocket to Mill Lane, which is blighted by cars
parking on grass verges at the side of the road.
Parking bays will be created alongside
the road by narrowing the central reservation.
Some trees will be removed and replaced
by more mature types to create a European boulevard effect and a new cycle
path will be installed.
A footbridge at the Rocket will
also be taken down and replaced by a pedestrian crossing.
A new link road will also be built
from the MTL site on Edge Lane into the city.
The public consultation into the
plans will start on Monday at the Devonshire House Hotel on Edge Lane.
Cllr Storey added that he hopes
Edge Lane can match the redeveloped Speke Boulevard in the south of the
city.
He said: "At the moment as you come
off the M62 it becomes more unattractive both visually and in terms of
driving.
"This is one of the most important
routes into the city and we want to make it a lot more attractive for visitors."
LLDC chief executive David Waugh
said: "A significant amount of work has gone into developing these outline
proposals and we are keen that local residents should be the first to hear
about them.
"Clearly there has been a lot of
speculation, so this is an opportunity to highlight the changes that are
being proposed and the impact they could have on local residents and businesses."
