FOUR Buddhist monks who live in a quiet residential street in Wanstead have appealed to the Government after Redbridge Council refused them permission to use their home as a temple.
The unassuming house in Blake Hall Road has been inhabited by the quartet since March 2007 after a charity bought them the building as a place to live and worship.
However the group only realised they needed 'change of use' planning permission after the council contacted them following a complaint from a neighbour.
Matters were further complicated by a devastating fire which ripped through the building just days after the monks moved in.
Months later, following the refurbishment of the house, a council committee flatly turned down their request to use it as a temple over concerns surrounding parking and noise, leaving the monks with the only option but to appeal to the independent Planning Inspectorate.
Monk Somchei Wirarwat, who follows 227 commandments as part of his strict Buddhist lifestyle, said he hoped they would be successful.
He said: “We don't have any problems and we are quite happy here.
“But we are Buddhists so we have to accept everything that's going to happen.”
Supporter Maung Maung Thein, who visits the house for Vipassana meditation and is spearheading the appeal, admitted a neighbour had been annoyed by noise from a ceremony to bless the house when it was refurbished, but said it was a one-off and that many residents supported them.
He added: “The monks don't want anything else but a quiet life. We are hopeful that we will get this appeal. We have addressed the concerns over parking and always rent halls for any big ceremonies. This is not a noisy place.”
A spokesman for Redbridge Council said the application had been refused “on the grounds that the proposal would have had a detrimental effect on the Aldersbrook Conservation Area, by reason of general pedestrian and vehicular activity at and within the vicinity of the site and noise disturbance.
“Also, insufficient information on parking was submitted with the application to allow the council to fully assess the proposal.”
The Planning Inspectorate is expected to deliver a verdict within the next couple of months.
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