Proposals for a new yeshivah in Gateshead, Newcastle have been rejected due to concerns over the potential impact on neighbours.
The application was for a four-storey college in the Bensham area for 100 students, which would also accommodate the principal and some of the students.
Gateshead Council’s planning and development committee highlighted concerns over the design and lack of information in the application.
The building would have filled a gap on 85-99 Woodbine Street after eight flats were demolished following an intervention from the health and safety executive.
The planning application stated that applicant Rabbi Edry “wanted to establish a full-time residential college for boys of school-leaving age to further their knowledge of the Jewish Religion, with specific emphasis of the study in-depth of the Talmud”.
The need for the new college was due to the “growing demand of young people wanting to devote themselves to the religion before taking their place in adult society”, stated the application.
Rabbi Edry said that the pupils, aged 16 to18, would have to adhere to “the high ethical standards” of the school in terms of their behaviour.
According to a BBC report, the proposal was subject to a petition of 52 signatures in opposition of the construction. Rabbi Edry told the committee that the plan was already in the pre-planning phases with the Labour-led council, and he was willing to accept a condition to limit the number of students to 50.
But the plan also received 33 letters with a range of objections, including the size of the building to parking concerns.
The council’s report on the application mentioned the scale of the plan was “significantly larger” than the surrounding homes and that there was not enough information about the impact of noise or car parking. The report also suggested that reversing vehicles would pose "a significant risk" to pedestrians and cyclists.
In the planning application, it stated that the architects would aim to design a building “that respects and is sensitive to its environment albeit in a contemporary approach”.
Gateshead Council has been approached for comment.
