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The site of the proposed Buddhist centre
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Monastery relabelled community centre

By Amy Taylor
March 04, 2013

PLANS are well under way for a Buddhist centre and monastery in Aldershot, after a group of fundraisers bought the former BT social club in Ordnance Road.

Owned by the Buddhist Community Centre UK (BCCUK), the plan is to turn the former BT venue, between the old fire station and the football stadium, into a Buddhist community centre and place of worship.

Spearheaded by Damar Ghale MBE, the project has been funded by a mixed group of donors, all of whom contributed at least £1,000 to become a trustee, creating a pool of £400,000 to buy the site.

Mr Ghale, who works with the BCCUK charity and its existing community centre in Camberley, said that the group had met with planning officers at Rushmoor Borough Council in February to discuss the application.

“The planning is under preparation,” he said. “It will be a Buddhist family centre and we hope the public will appreciate the good of it, and see that it is something for the community.

“We have a range of nationalities in our members, and our trustees are from all over the community, not just Nepalese people.

“It’s not for one particular group of people.”

Head of planning at Rushmoor, Keith Holland, confirmed that preliminary meetings had been held, but that he had encouraged the group to use the community centre title, rather than to call it a monastery.

“Monastery conjured up this image of a very large building on a mountain top, and clearly it’s not going to be that,” he said.

“They are looking for some kind of community facility.”

The centre will need a change of use to its licence from a social club to a place of worship, and it would need to adhere to parking and fire regulations.

Mr Ghale agreed that it would not be known as a monastery.

“There will be sign boards up with the BCCUK logo on them, and there will be a change of use to a place for prayers, but it is also for non-Buddhists,” he added.

“We want people to come and learn about Buddhism and enjoy the facility.”

He said they were looking to appoint two monks to lead services, particularly for special occasions such as weddings and funerals.

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Most recent user comments 13 of 13

Martin Freeman was born here apparently and Arthur English lived in Cranmore Gardens, Aldershot, used to deliver his paper!

Aldershot Lass
22/03/2013 at 11:09

Arthur English lived in Farnborough (I knew he was from Aldershot though), as did Lawrence of Arabia, the Empress Eugénie, Anne Robinson, Paul Weller from The Jam, former Tory cabinet minister David Mellor, S. Cody himself and Annie Mac but there don't seem to be any famous people actually born in the town, save for a claim on Wikipedia that the Belgian director Robbe de Hert was born there in 1942 {{Citation needed}}.

Ian McEwan the author is another well-known Aldershot-born person.

BlisteringBarnacles! , Sheffield / Farnborough
07/03/2013 at 23:22

BlisteringBarnacles!

Well done at least all 4 have a connection with Aldershot or Rushmoor, with 2 being born here.

Surprised that you didn't pick Arthur English. Another interesting candidate (considering the subject matter of the article) might have been Well done at least all 4 have a connection with Aldershot, with 2 being born here.

Surprised that no one picked Arthur English. Another interesting candidate (considering the subject matter of the article) might have been Nanavira Thera.

At a pinch we could also have had Charlie Chaplin (not born here, but supposed to have made his first stage appearance here).

Couldn’t really find any famous people from Farnborough, although they do have the Emperor Napoleon III and his wife buried there.

Dawi, Aldershot
07/03/2013 at 21:43

Wat Tyler and George Loveless

peter hensman
07/03/2013 at 13:55

Peter Hensman, that only accounts for two of the faces, what about the other two.

};-)

Dawi, Aldershot
07/03/2013 at 10:54

Nigel's who else

peter hensman
06/03/2013 at 16:45

Samuel Cody, Martin Freeman, Heather Mills and, erm...'Sir' Gerald Howarth?

BlisteringBarnacles! , Sheffield / Farnborough
06/03/2013 at 14:39

Just a thought, are we going to call this new pile of earth Mount Rushmoor, and if so who's faces are we going to have carved in to it?

};-)

Dawi, Aldershot
06/03/2013 at 12:54

@Retired of Aldershot, Aldershot I may moan about them being here but I find them a friendly and welcoming people, alway coffee and a buiscit when i have visited their welfare centre.

A death slide from the sumit of the Wellington Centre to the ski slope on mount Thorn Hill, Now there is an idea

peter hensman
05/03/2013 at 11:33

Peter - remember that you can climb beyond the summit and return to terra firma via the ski slope.

Seriously let us hope that RBC and BCCUK do pay attention to parking needs etc and also how they will cope with a major event at the monastery /community centre/Bhuddist centre when it coincides with a match next door at the EBB stadiium.

It will be interesting to see just how active the centre becomes in promoting itself as "open to all".

The current Nepalese based centres do not seem to have a profile that projects an "open to all" image.

Retired of Aldershot, Aldershot
05/03/2013 at 08:36

You're right of course Peter :) A competent government would be a boring government!

And my own comment should read "a mound of earth of Himilayan proportions".

BlisteringBarnacles! , Sheffield / Farnborough
04/03/2013 at 13:56

I look foreward to climbing the foothills of Aldershot and after resting at base camp (Yates) I shall climb the northwest face of the mighty Wellington peak. I hope to see you on my safe return BB Remember if it was not for the council we would have nothing to moan about

peter hensman
04/03/2013 at 12:22

Well Mr Holland, it's gratifying to know that you consider the electorate of Rushmoor so stupid as to think we would believe there was going to be a "very large building on a mountain-top" built in Aldershot.

Were you expecting there to be a public outcry at all the houses that would need to be demolished to construct a moubd of earth of Himilayan in the town, maybe in place of the urban extension? Perhaps you were scared that the residents of Farnborough would complain that Aldershot gets all the nice things "First the get WestGate, then they're given a mountain range."

If I have understood the article right, then the only reason the place won't be called a monastery is because of the council's interference.