A Muslim billionaire needs to show the Trocadero leisure complicated, within the centre of London’s West Finish, right into a three-story mosque and Islamic centre.
Asift Aziz, 56, founder and Chief Govt of property firm Criterion Capital, is behind the plan. It should take the place of a Metro cinema, which closed in 2006.
Aziz, a London-based billionaire entrepreneur, purchased the Trocadero in 2005. It was as soon as residence to the London Pavilion Theatre and later, SegaWorld – and the UK’s first 3D IMAX cinema, which was sponsored by Pepsi.
Aziz plans to create a mosque with a capability for 390 worshippers within the Coventry Road constructing Situated between Soho and Piccadilly Circus, it’s famend for its ornate baroque façade.
It comes after earlier makes an attempt to construct a mosque with capability for 1,000 individuals had been pulled in 2020 following complaints.
Conservative councillor Matthew Inexperienced informed the BBC on the time that some feedback objecting to the proposal had been racist, hateful and “totally repellant”. Far-right group Britain First organised a petition in opposition to the proposal.
Nevertheless, a planning software for a smaller growth was accredited by Westminster Metropolis Council on the finish of Could this 12 months. A council spokesperson informed the Mail on Sunday: “A planning software by the Aziz Basis to transform part of the London Trocadero was accredited by the council’s planning committee in Could 2023.”
Aziz has a property portfolio of greater than £2 billion, and owns round 40 London properties.