Features

A few weeks back BBC Radio Leicester organised a young persons' debate about housing and where to live.

One of  Shabina's priorities was wanting to live where there was a place of worship close by.

Do developers and planners in Leicester have in mind the needs of our religiously diverse population?

Under Instruction

David Brazier said: "They are certainly under instruction to do this and they do their best... But on occasion the religious needs of people, and indeed many other social needs do not occur at the time of the building."

He said that there was a chicken and egg situation at the heart of this question. You don't know who you are providing for when you build housing - you don't know till people move in.

Listen: David Brazier on Faith Facilities in Leicester

David Brazier, Manager of the local Housing Advice Centre talks to John Florance

Nevertheless, planners should include some provision for religious and social buildings to be put up after the community has been established.

He also agreed that perhaps there was a responsibility on faith communities to provide their own facilities. It isn't the sole responsibility of the council or planners to do this.

"The planners need to make some provision," said David, "but at the end of the day people have to make a planning application, raise the money and build whatever it is that meets their [spiritual] needs."

Asked about the situation in Leicester David said that there were a "considerable number of religious buildings" which reflect the diversity of faiths found in the city.

However some are not very satisfactory.

"If you convert a building to religious use it could, for example, cause parking problems in residential neighbourhoods."

David remarked that at the end of the day, whatever planners and developers did, someone would find fault with them!