A community centre's request for new vehicle access and land for parking has been opposed by neighbours. 

Swindon Borough Council will decide if it approves the plan after it was called in by a ward councillor following objections by members of the public, and the parish council. 

The Punjabi Community Centre in Swindon has its building on a small triangle of land between Cirencester Way, Cricklade Road and Kembrey Street, which it shares with the Shri Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sikh temple.

Its application says that until relatively recently the access for the centre was via a small road from Kembrey Street, with visitors to the community centre driving past the temple through its car park to the centre’s own parking.

(Image: Dave Cox)

But it adds: “The Shri Guru Nanak Gurdwara temple has started locking the gate between temple and the community centre and not allowing visitors to access the centre car park via Kembrey Street.

"This is causing parking problems for visitors wishing to use the centre who have to walk from Kembrey Street then along Cricklade Road to the centre. Due to this, visitors are parking on Cricklade Road and surrounding streets instead of using the community centre car park.”

A spokesperson for the temple denied that this is still the case.

There is another access to the centre from Cricklade Road, but its use is restricted by planning regulations for pedestrians and deliveries.

The access is wider than a single carriageway, and that extra space and some of the pedestrian footpath at the corner with Cricklade Road are used as informal parking.

The community centre has asked Swindon Borough Council planners for permission to allow motorists to drive into its site through the access and also to demarcate six parking spaces alongside it for use by the general public – formalising the practice of parking there.

A dozen neighbours in Cricklade Road, and Central Swindon Parish Council objected to the proposals, mainly on the grounds of fears of increased traffic and increased risk of collision, on Cricklade Road.

There was, however no objection by the council’s highways officers, but ward councillor John Ballman did call in the application to be discussed by the planning committee next week.

The temple also raised issues of the certificate of ownership of the land and said in October that the site should be seen, and used, as one and access and parking on the entire site should be for the benefit of users of both buildings.

The recommendation from planners to members of the committee is to approve the application.

The committee will meet at 6pm on Tuesday  12 November at the Civic offices in Euclid Street.

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