Historic library in standard Welsh vacationer city might be became a mosque after Christian group dropped authorized motion

Do you reside close to the previous library? E mail robert.folker@dailymail.co.uk

By ROBERT FOLKER, NEWS REPORTER

Printed: 11:53 BST, 9 October 2025 | Up to date: 11:57 BST, 9 October 2025

An historic former library is because of be became a mosque in a preferred Welsh city after a Christian group dropped authorized motion.

Labour council chiefs agreed a 30-year-old lease to show the landmark former library into Abergavenny’s first mosque after it had sat unused for ten years.

However campaigners blasted the plans for permitting an ‘extremely essential civic constructing’ to be leased for a ‘peppercorn hire’ within the South Welsh city broadly thought of the meals capital of Wales.

The city has turn out to be an enormous vacationer vacation spot for foodies, which is well-known for its internationally-renowned Abergavenny Meals Competition and thriving market.

Earlier this 12 months, the grade II listed constructing was focused with racist graffiti ‘no masjid’, which suggests mosque in Arabic.

The stone constructing is a former Carnegie Library – inbuilt 1905 with a grant of £4000 from a fund arrange by Scottish-American metal magnate Andrew Carnegie.

Three councillors and one resident threatened a authorized problem, which was backed by the Christian Authorized Centre.

They have been battling towards the £6,000 a 12 months lease for Monmouthshire Muslim Neighborhood Affiliation within the peaceable market city.

Labour council chiefs agreed a 30-year-old lease to show the grade II listed constructing right into a mosque

The Monmouthshire Muslim Neighborhood Affiliation might be chargeable for repairs and upkeep to the constructing, which made the lease unattractive to companies

Conservative councillors Louise Brown, Rachel Buckler, unbiased Simon Howarth and resident John Hardwick introduced in regards to the authorized problem after contacting Christian Concern.

Nonetheless, council chiefs now say the authorized motion has been dropped.

Andrea Williams, chief government of the Christian Authorized Centre, mentioned in a press release that the case ‘raises severe questions on transparency, equity, and the correct use of public property’.

Monmouthshire County Council has mentioned it has since obtained affirmation that the judicial assessment will not be progressed.

The spokesman mentioned: ‘The council can now verify that it has obtained affirmation that there might be no judicial assessment.

‘The council has absolute confidence in its decision-making and governance preparations. Any try to frustrate the democratically agreed place of the council might be met with an applicable problem. That mentioned, there might be no touch upon any new or further authorized issues till they’re concluded.’

Monmouthshire’s Labour-led cupboard agreed in Could to lease the constructing, because it had deemed surplus to necessities the earlier November, to the Muslim Neighborhood Affiliation, which at present meet on the Abergavenny Catholic Church parish corridor.

The Monmouthshire Muslim Neighborhood Affiliation might be chargeable for repairs and upkeep, which made the lease unattractive to companies.

Cllr Buckler mentioned the Christian Authorized Centre was a ‘excellent organisation’ and that it ‘is smart to collaborate with them’ however mentioned the problem wasn’t a spiritual problem.

She mentioned: ‘The entire level isn’t any organisation needs to be handled with any extra favour than some other.

‘It’s not a couple of Christian agenda it is in regards to the truth a lease was awarded, so far as we will see, for a peppercorn hire for 30 years for an extremely essential civic constructing that was given to the folks by the Carnegie Belief in 1905.’

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