Highlights
- Peterborough Council approved sale of New England Complex to undisclosed bidder, rejecting temple's purchase offer.
- Bharat Hindu Samaj temple serves worshippers across five counties including Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire.
- Three councillors secure extraordinary scrutiny meeting to review controversial sale decision.
The future of a Hindu temple in Peterborough is under scrutiny after city councillors have called in the council's decision to sell the community building housing the place of worship.
Peterborough City Council's cabinet approved last week the sale of the New England Complex in Millfield to a preferred bidder following what it called "a competitive best and final offer process". The preferred bidder has not been named and has been identified only by the letter B.
However, the Bharat Hindu Samaj temple told the BBC it believed its own bid to buy the building had been unsuccessful.
A request by three councillors for an extraordinary scrutiny committee meeting to review the decision has been granted. The councillors are Liberal Democrats Ann Shaheed, who represents Gunthorpe, and Asif Shaheed of Paston and Walton, and Independent member for Hampton Vale, Roger Antunes.
The complex on Rock Road contains seven community-use units, including the Bharat Hindu Samaj. The Hindu temple was established in 1986 and is used by worshippers from across Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire.
The building also houses a soup kitchen serving the local community. The building's sale is part of the authority's ongoing efforts to reduce debts by selling off assets.
A date has yet to be announced for the extraordinary scrutiny committee meeting, at which reasons for the call-in and the next steps will be debated.
The meeting will provide an opportunity to examine the decision-making process behind the sale and consider whether it should proceed as planned.
