Galway Bay fm newsroom - The Muslim community in Galway is continuing its efforts to keep a place of worship in the city.
Late last year, the city council refused planning permission to the Western Islamic Cultural Centre to keep a house in Mincloon as a place of worship and accommodation at basement level.
That decision is now being appealed to the higher planning authority.
Planners refused the retention application based on concerns about traffic in the area and the impact on local amenities.
Local residents had complained that a loudspeaker was used for some meetings at the centre and a large number of people gathered at various times of the day.
However the Muslim group has appealed that refusal to An Bord Pleanála.
In 2016, the city council voted in favour of a material contravention of the City Development Plan to allow consideration of the use of specific lands in Mincloon as a place of worship for Muslims.
The Western Islamic Cultural Centre argues in an appeal to An Bord Pleanála that the zoning allows for the use of the building as a place of worship.
A decision is due from An Bord Pleanála by May.
