'Mega mosque' plans rejected

Newham Council has rejected an application for a proposed "mega mosque" in East London.

Plans for the Riverine Centre close to the Olympic Park were turned down following a recommendation by Newham Council officers.

A spokesman for the council said there were concerns about the size of the buildings being proposed, and the impact on parking and traffic in the local area.

"Councillors have considered this application at length and with great care before deciding to reject it," the spokesperson said.

The centre, which would have been three times the size of St Paul's Cathedral, was the idea of Tablighi Jamaat, a group which has raised concerns about fundamentalism.

Alan Craig, campaign director of the MegaMosqueNoThankscampaign welcomed the decision.

"The sheer size of the mosque betrays the ambition and arrogance of Tablighi Jamaat," he said.

"Their religious ideology is divisive and hostile to non-Muslims, and there is certainly no local demand for something of this magnitude."