PLANS have been put forward which could see a large new mosque built in Great Lever.

The owners of the Makkah Mosque and Community Centre in Grecian Crescent want to build a much bigger facility on vacant land at the site.

The mosque is currently housed in a Victorian former school building, which would remain in place under the plans and be used as an education centre.

If approved, the new three-storey mosque building would be built alongside a new two-tier community centre — with spaces for 90 cars to park on site.

It will be made up of a main building, along with two minarets reaching 130 metres above sea-level, which works out at 25 metres high - as well as a large dome.

The Makkah Mosque Trust said the application had been submitted because the current building has reached its capacity and the new facility will meet the “current and future religious and non-religious needs of the local Muslim and non-Muslim community”.

The trust states that one key aspect of the proposed new mosque is to provide “much needed” facilities for women and children.

This means a specific prayer hall for women, as well as a women-only washing room.

The plans also include a main prayer hall and a special occasion prayer hall, funeral room and meeting rooms.

The mosque building will be linked — through a lobby — to the new community centre building, which will house community rooms and a kitchen.

The proposed mosque’s main frontage, pedestrian and vehicle access would be facing Grecian Crescent, with the community building set back from the road.

The total footprint of the new scheme will cover 5.895 sq m, compared to the 2.680 sq m taken up by the existing mosque plot.

The current building is included in that measurement as it is proposed it will remain in use as an education centre for the trust.

In a planning statement, a spokesman said: “A desire to enhance and improve the dated mosque facilities and provide much needed prayer and other facilities for women and children as well as to cater for the wider local community irrespective of their race, creed, colour gender and religion is the driving force behind the proposed scheme.”

“This new replacement facility will endeavour to tackle some of the social exclusion and integration issues currently plaguing society and will be a model for other cities and all the facilities will be open to the local community irrespective of their creed, colour or religion.”

Although providing 90 car parking spaces, the trust said it will encourage members to travel on foot and believes this will be the case — with most heading in from the immediate vicinity.

A spokesman said: “It is the policy of the Makkah Trust to encourage members to travel on foot. As part of their religious beliefs, the congregation sees walking to their place of worship as an important part of the ritual.”

The application states that the mosque currently welcomes in an average of 50 people to observe prayers between Monday and Thursday — with that number rising to between 100 and 150 on Saturdays and Sundays.

Friday lunchtime is the main prayer time of the week and so a higher number of members would be expected to attend at that time.

The trust said it carried out "extensive" community consultation on the plans between October, 2014 and November, 2015, including delivering leaflets to residents and holding a public meeting.

The plans will now be analysed by council officers and are likely to come before the planning committee for a decision to be made.