A DECISION has been made by council bosses on plans to set up an Islamic welfare centre in Cumnock.

The application for a first-floor flat on Ayr Road was approved by the planning department at East Ayrshire Council (EAC) after no objections were received.

The application was submitted to EAC in October and was accompanied by a letter from the chairman of the Cumnock Islamic Welfare Association, Mr Mukhtar Ahmed, stating that the centre would be “a huge benefit for the town”.

According to a council report on the handling of the application, no objections were received to the plans, while one letter of support was submitted stating that the centre “would bring much needed support to all religions and backgrounds to meet new people and expand their knowledge of their peers around them”.

In a supporting letter, Mr Mukhtar Ahmed, chairman of the Cumnock Islamic Welfare Association, said: "We are a non-profit organisation and we feel the community centre would be a huge benefit for the town.

"Cumnock has become a multi-faith society and at the moment there is nowhere for Muslims to be able to socialise and pray.

"Furthermore, this will be an excellent space to help people, in particular Muslims, socialise and support those suffering with mental health due to feeling enclosed and deprived of not having an Islamic community centre to go to.

"The centre would be open to everyone and a great way for allowing the community to have a greater tolerance and understanding of the beliefs of others in Cumnock.

"The centre would be an excellent asset for Cumnock and is desperately needed to help support many of the Muslims in the area who will be relying on the centre."

The letter says the centre would be mainly open during the day, keeping any disruption to neighbours to a minimum, but that there will be volunteers "on duty at all times ensuring the day-to-day running of the centre is always as smooth as possible".

The East Ayrshire Council officer who wrote the report added: "The site is located in the town centre of Cumnock, and within the Conservation Area. It is not considered the proposals will have any significant detrimental effect on either.

“The proposed development is considered to be in accordance with the policies of the development plan, and there are no material considerations in respect of the proposal that would justify refusal of the application.”