A PRAYER Hall in Hounslow is causing an unholy row between residents and religious leaders, who were given an ultimatum this week to respond to complaints over cooking odours, noise and parking.

The hall behind the Hussar Public House on Staines Road has been used by local Hindus for their daily prayers for over three years, despite never being granted planning permission. The building was previously used as a function room for the pub.

Complaints have centred around an extractor fan blowing cooking odours over nearby properties, excessive noise of vehicles leaving the hall and then travelling the wrong way down a one-way street, and lack of parking provision.

Worshippers say they are suffering race discrimination, but other nearby locals say they are being intimidated by supporters of the prayer hall.

Calls for enforcement action to stop the use as a prayer hall have twice been put before the Central Hounslow Area Planning Committee, and twice been deferred.

At a stormy meeting of the committee last Thursday (April 24th) councillors agreed to defer their decision again, and gave organisers at the hall three months, until July 24th, to put things right.

Conservative Councillor, Pamela Fisher sat on the committee last week and was disappointed with the decision: I was very much against the deferment. It's been going on for too long now.''

She added that the meeting left her feeling uncomfortable: I felt physically threatened by the atmosphere of some of the supporters sitting right behind me and I will be speaking to the Conservative group leader, Peter Thompson, to see if there's anything that can be done about this.''

Ray Ferguson, from the Hounslow Residents Group, was also at the meeting and felt there was a certain amount of intimidation.

He commented: A speaker for neighbours, living only twenty five feet away, who were objecting to the loss of amenities was shouted down on a number of occasions.

The end result is that the applicants have been granted more time to get round the objections, despite the premises, as they are currently decorated, being an eyesore.''

Cllr Jiwan Virk backed the worshippers: Hounslow has mosques, churches and Sikh temples but nowhere for Hindus to go and worship. I've lived in the area by the hall for 29 years and have never heard any noise from it. I'd be more worried about noise from aircraft.''

May 1, 2003 16:00