Hindu temple in Swindon refused permission to increase capacity
The news comes ahead of Diwali
The Hindu Samaj Swindon has been denied permission to extend its hours and increase the number of people attending.
The organisation told planners at Swindon Borough Council that when the use of Wyvern House, a building at the side of the Wyvern Theatre in Theatre Square was approved in 2022 it was only allowed to operate between 9.30am to 4pm and 6.30pm to 11pm, and with no more than 50 attendees. The concern was the impact on the roads in a busy central area of town, and parking concerns.
The Hindu Samaj asked to be able to drop those restrictions, saying most of its visitors come by foot or bus, and that 30 to 50 people visit every day for regular activities, and two weekend events per month attract 150 to 160 people.
It says 50 people attending would create 10 vehicle trips, and 100 people 20 and called the impact on the local roads as “not discernible”.
But that did not convince the borough council’s highways officer, who said the organisation had not provided enough information about the potential impact of larger events.
The officer wrote: “The concern remains that an unrestricted permission may adversely impact on peak-time traffic and local parking as a consequence of removing both of these restrictive conditions.
“The data presented in the transport note is not time-referenced to describe highway peak-time impact, and nor is there any context data to local highway network traffic flows at those times, both of which are critical considerations for full removal of these conditions.”
In refusing permission the council’s planners said:” The assessment provided in the submitted, transport note is inadequate/insufficient and therefore the authority is unable to determine if the development is appropriate without detriment to highway safety.”