THE leader of Bolton Council today defended the authority's fight to repossess land which had a mosque on it.

Cllr Bob Howarth said the legal battle was not directed at a religious group, but said that it was "a matter of recovering land being occupied without permission which only came to light after complaints from the neighbourhood."

He added that the council had made a "concerted effort" over the last eight years to regain control of the land used to house a temporary mosque and cultural education centre in a former garage on St George's Road.

Bolton Council was granted possession of the land after a hearing at Bury Crown Court.

Cllr Howarth added: "As far as we are concerned, the matter is now closed."

"I am confident that the council has acted properly. The land is council property. Our action has protected the interests of the wider community."

Previous news story

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.