A vacant building in Bury St Edmunds could be transformed into a place of worship for the "growing" Muslim community in the area.

Change of use proposals by Abdul Rashid of the Bury St Edmunds Islamic Cultural Organisation would see The Vineyard Centre in Out Westgate become a place of worship. 

The plans before West Suffolk Council include the use of the ground floor for worship and the conversion of part of the first floor office into a living space for an Imam.

Also on the first floor would be a room for women's prayer as well as evening "educational classes for children" and "community activities such as the inter-faith dialogue meetings". 

The building, originally built in the 1940s for use as a Baptist Church, is currently empty. 

A statement to the council read: "Bury St Edmunds currently has no dedicated space for the local Muslim community to observe religious services.

"For the last 20 years, the local Muslim community has relied on hiring various halls in the town including Quaker Meeting House for last 8-10 years to offer the Friday ritual prayers and community services."

If the plans were to go ahead, there would be five congregational prayers offered at different times of the day depending on the time of the year, the first (Fajr) offered an hour before sunrise and the last (Isha) an hour after sunset. 

A statement read: "Therefore the proposal is for the premises to be used between the hours of 9am- 11pm Monday to Sunday with a 30min opening slot at dawn.

"There is no singing or loud music played at any of the congregational prayers."

It continued: "The growing Muslim community in Bury St Edmunds do not currently have a communal place of worship and the premises will provide suitable accommodation for the current needs of the local community."

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